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    The Inland Water Route
    The Inland Water Route
    The Inland Water Route
    Ebook154 pages1 hour

    The Inland Water Route

    By Matthew J. Friday

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    About this ebook

    From its humble beginnings as a trading route for Native Americans, Northern Michigan's Inland Route has become one of the most scenic and memorable voyages anywhere in America. As a series of interconnected lakes and rivers from Cheboygan to Conway, the Inland Route touches several Northern Michigan communities and links them through her winding rivers and vast lakes. After improvements to the waterway in the 1870s, bigger boats and log booms started drifting down the route; but what once was a necessity for fur traders and lumbermen, the meandering waterway soon blossomed with dozens of tourist boats, hotels, resorts, and cottages. The result was a memorable voyage filled with natural beauty, recreation, and socialization.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateSep 18, 2012
    ISBN9781439624401
    The Inland Water Route
    Author

    Matthew J. Friday

    Matthew J. Friday is a member of the board of directors of the Historical Society of Cheboygan County. He holds a master�s degree in history from Central Michigan University. The author of Among the Sturdy Pioneers: The Birth of the Cheboygan Area as a Lumbering Community, 1778�1935, Friday has also written numerous articles and given presentations on the history of northern Michigan. Friday is a fifth-generation resident of Cheboygan County.

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      Book preview

      The Inland Water Route - Matthew J. Friday

      is.

      INTRODUCTION

      Northern Michigan’s place as a vacation destination is nothing new. Now in its third century, tourism in the north has become a part of what makes up the identity of the northern portions of the Lower Peninsula. From tourism’s earliest days right up to the present, the Great Lakes have provided much of the attraction. But inland there are yet more waters to traverse—the majestic Inland Route.

      The Inland Route (sometimes referred to as the Inland Waterway), a series of interconnected lakes and rivers from the city of Cheboygan in the north to the village of Conway in the south, offers some of the most majestic and beautiful scenery in all of Michigan. The entire trip, one way, is about 43 miles. From north to south, the route touches the communities of Cheboygan, Mullett Lake, Aloha, Topinabee, Indian River, Alanson, Ponshewaing, Oden, and Conway. In days past, passengers aboard the Inland Route steamers could disembark at Conway or Oden and take a train into Bay View or Petoskey. Numerous other smaller named settlements also exist in places along the route, though they may only consist of a few cottages.

      But it would be remiss to only acknowledge the Inland Route as a tourist attraction. Long before any European set foot in the area, the northern waterways were used by the area’s Chippewa (Ojibwa) and Ottawa (Adawe) Indians, both for transportation and trade. Parts of the route were narrow or shallow, but this proved to be less of a problem for canoes than it would for steamships in the future. Native Americans used the Inland Route for trade with each other, as well as seasonal migration. Any number of encampments existed along the way, many of which have today been researched and documented. The Cheboygan River, Mullett Lake, Burt Lake, and Crooked Lake all had sizeable Native American settlements.

      Then, as now, each part of the Inland Route offered something different. From the cold depths of Mullett Lake to the meandering and twisting of the aptly named Crooked River, not only was the scenery something to behold, but the very water beneath the traveler was as well. But the Inland Route was not merely a natural wonder to be enjoyed; it had a much more important utilitarian use.

      With the arrival of Europeans beginning in the 17th century, the tip of the mitt area took on new importance for both its strategic location and its role in trade. The trade in animal pelts—fur—created the first major economic boom in the north. Fort Michilimackinac and later Fort Mackinac both played pivotal roles for the trade in furs to be shipped back to insatiable European markets. Essential to gathering furs were those who penetrated the rivers and lakes of the area, setting traps and trading with the Native Americans. The waters of what today make up the Inland Route no doubt played an important role. Not only could traders penetrate the interior region, it also made travel around Waugoshance Point unnecessary. Waugoshance, on the far northwest corner of the Lower Peninsula, was a treacherous point to try to travel by small craft such as a canoe. As there was frequent interaction between Native Americans on the western side of the state and those to the north and east, traveling around Waugoshance Point was a considerable danger. Bypassing it through use of the Inland Route no doubt saved countless lives. Indeed, the First Peoples are to be thanked for truly utilizing what would become known as the Inland Route.

      The mouth of the Cheboygan River was of particular importance to the Inland Route, as historical records indicate its role as a meeting place with the area’s Native Americans and the British and French from the forts. As early as 1776, fur trader John Askin owned a small house on the river, and there was likely at this time a small settlement of traders, Native Americans, and even a couple of slaves. But the name Cheboygan also refers to the river’s limited role: the name probably comes from the Annishinaabe zhiibaa’onan, meaning a channel or passage for a canoe. At the time, it was not navigable for much more than that.

      At any rate, the fur trade lasted until the mid–19th century, at which time the declining availability of fur and decreasing demand threatened to wipe out commerce in the area. Fishing became a viable industry for some, and the U.S. Army base at Fort Mackinac maintained its strategic importance, but these would not be enough to keep the north growing.

      Northern Michigan had been blessed by an abundance of white pine. As the United States expanded westward, the lumber available here was necessary in building a nation. There was a voracious demand for timber, and due to the abundance of it in the north and the excellent shipping avenues (being surrounded by two Great Lakes), Northern Michigan was in a naturally advantageous position. The first lumber mill was set up in Cheboygan in 1844 by Alexander McLeod, who had moved there from Mackinac Island. The next year, his employee Jacob Sammons built the first permanent residence in town. Many others soon followed, and Cheboygan and its nearby sister city of Duncan City both grew quickly. By the 1880s, both had become important lumbering communities.

      On the western end of what would be the Inland Route, settlement began at Petoskey just a few years after it had begun at Cheboygan. Though it had long been a substantial Native American settlement, white missionaries began moving into the area in the early 1850s. A Reverend Dougherty had been performing missionary work there for some time, but it was not until 1852 that Andrew Porter, a Presbyterian missionary, arrived with his family and began long-term work in the area. It would take seven more years before anyone would arrive with business interests. In 1859, Hazen Ingalls came to the area and purchased a sawmill formerly belonging to Harvey Porter, Andrew’s brother. He also operated a small store for the local Native Americans and the Porters. Early settlement here was not as rapid as it had been in Cheboygan and Duncan City, but the Bear River was nevertheless soon realized as an important source of power for sawmills. The small settlement, once dubbed Bear River, was renamed Petoskey in 1873 in honor

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