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History of
Mackinaw City
In 1634, Samuel Champlain commissioned Jean Nicolet to explore the area and make peace with the Indians. The region was well traveled by traders, missionaries, and explorers during the 17th and 18th centuries. It eventually became a fur-trading post and later the site of Fort Michilimakinac, active from 1712-1781. French troops, sent to garrison the fort in 1715, remained for several years until it was occupied by British forces.
During the fur trading and lumbering eras, a commercial fishing industry also developed along the shores of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. The first fish markets were established in Mackinaw City around 1824. By 1860, there were 32 fishing companies in the area. A long-time resident of Mackinaw City remembered the fishing industry during its peak years. He told of one to five refrigerated railroad cars leaving the town daily loaded with fish for downstate and out-of-state markets. Just as in the fur trade and lumbering industries, uncontrolled harvesting soon depleted the fish to the point where a large scale industry could not survive.
In 1857, Edgar Conkling and Asbury M. Searles, as trustees of the proprietors of Mackinaw lands, had the village platted by R.C. Phillips. In 1870, George W. Stimson set up a general store which led to the eventual formation of Mackinaw City. General storekeeper Louis J. Willets became the first postmaster on April 25, 1871.
The village's name was shortened to Mackinaw on November 22, 1894, but was restored to Mackinaw City on December 19, 1935. The arrival of the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad in 1881 guaranteed the community's success. It was incorporated as a village in 1882.
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