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Some places have a past. Mackinac Island has layers.
This 3.8-square-mile limestone rock in the Straits of Mackinac has been sacred ground, a fur trade crossroads, a military flashpoint, a national park, and a Victorian resort. It has witnessed Native American ceremonies, British invasions, Prohibition-era speakeasies, and Hollywood film crews. And through all of it, the island made one stubborn, defining decision: no cars.
That choice, made in 1898 by a handful of carriage operators worried about their horses, turned Mackinac Island into something rare. Not a museum. Not a theme park. A living community that operates at the pace of hoofbeats and bicycle tires while the rest of the world races past.
Understanding the history of Mackinac Island is not just an academic exercise. It explains why the lilacs bloom so thick in June, why the fudge shops line Main Street, why the Grand Hotel charges you twelve dollars just to walk on its porch, and why roughly 500 horses share the island with fewer than 600 year-round residents. Every tradition has a backstory. Every backstory is worth knowing.
For Michigan families planning a summer trip, or anyone who has ever wondered how this little island became one of the most iconic destinations in the Great Lakes, this is the full story.
Mackinac Island - Mackinac.com, Facebook
What Did Mackinac Island Mean to Native Americans?
Long before the first European set foot on its shores, this island was sacred.
The Anishinaabe (the collective name for the Odawa, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi peoples) called it Michilimackinac, or Mishimikinaak, meaning "Great Turtle" or "Big Turtle," a name inspired by the island's distinctive shape rising from the water. They believed the island rose from the back of a giant turtle at the dawn of creation. It was here, they said, that the Great Spirit Gitchi-Manitou made his home among his people.
For centuries, the Three Fires Confederacy traveled across the Great Lakes to gather on this limestone rock. They came to fish, to trade, to bury their dead, and to hold ceremonies on land they considered a bridge between the physical and spiritual worlds. Archaeological artifacts establish a Native American presence dating back to at least 900 AD, though evidence of semi-nomadic peoples at the broader Straits of Mackinac area extends to roughly 1,000 BC, according to Mackinac State Historic Parks.
The island sits at the crossroads of two Great Lakes. Lake Huron to the east. Lake Michigan to the west. That geography made it spiritually significant to Native peoples. It would later make it strategically essential to empires.
Multiple creation stories exist in Anishinaabe tradition. Alongside the Great Turtle narrative, another tells of Michabou, the Great Hare, who created the island after a cataclysmic flood. Both versions speak to the same truth: this was ground the Anishinaabe considered the beginning of things, a place where the world started.
How Did Europeans Change Mackinac Island?
The French arrived in the 1600s, drawn by the fur trade. Jean Nicolet became the first European to note the area in 1634. Father Claude Dablon visited the Straits and wintered on Mackinac Island in 1670, and the following year Father Jacques Marquette established the Mission of St. Ignace just north of the island, bringing Huron refugees to the Straits. By the early 1700s, the region had become the most important transportation corridor in the upper Great Lakes. Beaver pelts, muskets, tools, and textiles flowed through Native trading networks that had existed for generations.
The French built Fort Michilimackinac on the mainland (present-day Mackinaw City) in 1715 to protect their interests. Then the British took over after the Seven Years' War.
What happened next became one of the most dramatic moments in Great Lakes history. On June 2, 1763, Ojibwe warriors staged a game of baaga'adowe (a forerunner of modern lacrosse) outside the fort walls. British Commander George Etherington had been warned by a Canadian fur trader that trouble was brewing. He ignored the warning. When the ball sailed over the fort wall and the gates opened, Native women passed concealed hatchets and spears to the warriors. The attack, part of the broader conflict known as Pontiac's War, overwhelmed the garrison. The event became known as the Massacre of Michilimackinac.
The British eventually determined the wooden fort on the mainland was too vulnerable. In the winter of 1779-1780, they dismantled it piece by piece and transported the materials across the frozen straits to Mackinac Island. There, on the high limestone bluffs, they built Fort Mackinac, believing the elevation would make it nearly impossible to attack. The Officers' Stone Quarters, constructed in 1780, still stands today as the oldest surviving building in all of Michigan.
What Role Did Mackinac Island Play in the War of 1812?
The fort never saw battle during the American Revolution. But it would play a starring role in another war.
On July 17, 1812, a combined force of approximately 46 British regulars, 200 voyageurs and fur traders, and 400 Native American warriors launched a surprise attack on Fort Mackinac. Lieutenant Porter Hanks and his garrison of roughly 61 American soldiers had no idea war had been declared. The British dragged cannon to the high ground above the fort (the same ridge where they would later build Fort George), and Hanks surrendered without firing a shot. It was the first land engagement of the War of 1812.
The British capture of Fort Mackinac on July 17, 1812, was the first land engagement of the War of 1812. The American garrison, unaware war had been declared, surrendered without a fight.
Two years later, on August 4, 1814, the Americans tried to take it back. Lieutenant Colonel George Croghan led more than 750 soldiers, transported by seven Navy warships under Commodore Arthur Sinclair, in an amphibious assault on the island's north shore. But the British, under Lieutenant Colonel Robert McDouall, were ready. They had used the Americans' delay (Croghan hesitated for nearly a week while many soldiers were ill) to fortify their positions.
The battle unfolded on farmland near what is now British Landing Road. As Major Andrew Holmes led a flanking maneuver into the woods, his force was ambushed by Native warriors allied with the British. Holmes was killed instantly. Thirteen Americans died in total, including Captain Isaac Van Horne, and fifty-one were wounded. British and Native casualties were negligible. Croghan ordered a retreat. The Americans rowed back to their ships, and the fort remained in British hands for the rest of the war.
The Treaty of Ghent, signed December 24, 1814 and taking effect in February 1815, returned the island to American control. Fort George was renamed Fort Holmes in honor of the fallen major, whose sacrifice lives on in the name of the island's highest point. Today, Wawashkamo Golf Club, Michigan's oldest continuously operated golf course, sits on that 1814 battlefield. Archaeologists have uncovered hundreds of artifacts there, including bullets, uniform buttons, and an 1807 penny.
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Mackinac Island Tourism Bureau, Facebook
How Did Mackinac Island Become America's Second National Park?
For decades after the War of 1812, Mackinac Island remained a quiet military outpost. The fur trade faded. The fishing industry rose. And then something unexpected happened.
Tourists discovered it.
After the Civil War, steamboats began ferrying visitors from Chicago, Detroit, and Cleveland. They came for the cool summer breezes, the dramatic bluffs, the clean air. Word spread. The island's reputation grew. And in 1875, the federal government did something remarkable.
Congress designated Mackinac Island as the second national park in the United States, just three years after Yellowstone. Senator Thomas W. Ferry, who was born on the island, championed the effort. President Ulysses S. Grant signed it into law on March 3, 1875. More than 1,044 acres were set aside for public enjoyment. Soldiers from Fort Mackinac doubled as park rangers.
The arrival of national park status brought even more visitors. The natural limestone formations that had drawn the Anishinaabe for centuries, including Arch Rock (a 146-foot-high natural limestone arch made of rare breccia limestone, accessible by 207 steps from the lakeshore) and Sugar Loaf (a 75-foot limestone stack the Anishinaabe considered the dwelling of Gitchi-Manitou), now attracted tourists from across the Midwest.
When Fort Mackinac was decommissioned in 1895, the federal government transferred the park to the State of Michigan. It became Michigan's first state park, a designation it still holds today. The transfer came with a condition: the land must remain a state park or revert to federal ownership. Eighty percent of the island remains preserved as Mackinac Island State Park, and the entire island was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960.
What Is the Story Behind the Grand Hotel?
The national park designation brought opportunity, and railroad and steamship companies saw it clearly.
In 1886, the Michigan Central Railroad, the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad, and the Detroit and Cleveland Steamship Navigation Company formed the Mackinac Island Hotel Company. They commissioned the Detroit architectural firm Mason and Rice to design a grand summer palace. Construction, led by builder John Oliver Plank (the hotel was originally called "Plank's Grand Hotel"), took just 93 days. Workers were paid double wages, and lumber was sledded across the frozen straits.
When the Grand Hotel opened on July 10, 1887, it was unlike anything the Great Lakes had ever seen. A gleaming white palace perched on a hill, with a front porch stretching 660 feet, advertised as the longest porch in the world. Rooms cost three to five dollars a night (roughly $105 to $175 in today's money). Thomas Edison came and demonstrated his phonograph on that porch. Mark Twain lectured there. Presidents Grover Cleveland and Theodore Roosevelt were among the earliest distinguished guests, followed over the decades by Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, Gerald Ford, George H.W. Bush, and Bill Clinton.
The Grand Hotel opened on July 10, 1887, built in just 93 days. Its 660-foot front porch, advertised as the world's longest, and its gleaming Michigan white pine construction made it the crown jewel of Great Lakes resorts.
But the Grand Hotel's most colorful chapter might be one most visitors never hear about. During Prohibition, the hotel reportedly operated a speakeasy. Slot machines were disguised as radios. A revolving wall concealed a roulette table. And according to local lore, women smuggled alcohol in baby carriages. W. Stewart Woodfill, who joined the hotel as a desk clerk in 1919, rose through the ranks and eventually purchased the property during the Great Depression. The Musser family later owned the Grand Hotel for more than 85 years before selling to KSL Capital Partners in 2019.
Today, the Grand Hotel spans 332,500 square feet and holds nearly 400 guest rooms, each uniquely decorated by famed designer Carleton Varney. The kitchen staff of more than 100 prepares up to 4,000 meals per day. The swimming pool, named for actress Esther Williams after the 1947 film "This Time for Keeps" was shot on location, holds 500,000 gallons. Gentlemen are still required to wear jackets and ties to dinner. And non-guests pay twelve dollars just to walk on that famous porch.
Why Are Cars Banned on Mackinac Island?
That same year the Grand Hotel opened, 1887, a family of sail makers named Murdick set up a candy shop. The island was changing fast. But it was about to make a decision that would define its future for the next century and beyond.
In the late 1890s, horseless carriages began appearing on the island's narrow streets. The sputtering, smoking machines frightened the horses that pulled the carriages tourists loved. Carriage operators petitioned the village council. On July 6, 1898, Mackinac Island banned automobiles.
The rest of the world was racing toward the motor age. Mackinac Island said no.
Two years later, summer cottager Earl C. Anthony brought a steam-powered Locomobile to the island. It frightened horses and wrecked carriages. In 1901, the Mackinac Island State Park Commission followed the village's lead, banning automobiles in the park as well. The State of Michigan formalized the ban into state law in 1960, the same year the island's perimeter road, M-185, was paved.
The ban held. It held through the rise of Ford and General Motors. It held through the highway boom of the 1950s. It holds today.
M-185, the 8.2-mile road that loops around the island's perimeter, is the only state highway in America where motor vehicles are not allowed. Instead, the traffic consists of bicycles, pedestrians, and horse-drawn carriages. The clip-clop of hooves on pavement. The creak of wooden wheels. The jingle of harnesses. Sounds from another century, still alive.
Exceptions have been rare and notable: Secret Service vehicles for President Gerald Ford in 1975, cars brought in for the filming of "Somewhere in Time" in 1979, and a controversial motorcade for Vice President Mike Pence in 2019. Today, more than 500 horses share the island with the year-round human population.
How Did Mackinac Island Become the Fudge Capital of the World?
Henry and Jerome "Rome" Murdick were sail makers who had been commissioned to make awnings for the Grand Hotel. In 1887, they opened a small candy shop on the island using wife Sara Murdick's recipes. Rome Murdick was the first to make fudge on marble slabs, turning candy-making into a spectacle. Customers watched as confectioners stirred copper kettles, poured hot liquid onto stone, and worked it into smooth, creamy blocks.
In the 1920s, Gould Murdick innovated further, using ceiling fans to blow the fudge scent into the streets and pouring vanilla flavoring into the kettles for extra aroma. The smell became its own form of advertising.
Sugar rationing during World War II threatened the island's fudge industry, but the post-war tourism boom more than made up for it. As Mackinac Island shifted from an elite resort destination to a middle-class family vacation spot, fudge shops proliferated. By the 1960s, so many day-trippers arrived clutching boxes of fudge that locals coined a nickname: fudgies.
The fudge business also had its drama. Gould Murdick sold his shop to Harold May around 1940 with a 10-year non-compete clause, and May's became (and remains) the oldest continuously operating fudge shop on the island. In the 1950s and 1960s, competing shops fought over marketing claims in what locals remember as the "Fudge Wars," complete with lawsuits over who could claim original status.
Today, 13 fudge shops operate on Mackinac Island, handcrafting thousands of pounds of fudge daily during peak season. Major names include Original Murdick's, May's, Ryba's, Joann's, and Sanders. Chocolate remains the most popular flavor, though the shops offer dozens of varieties.
What Is the "Somewhere in Time" Connection?
In 1979, Universal Studios brought a film crew, along with special permission to bring motor vehicles onto the car-free island, to shoot what would become one of the most enduring cult classics in romantic cinema.
"Somewhere in Time" (1980), directed by Jeannot Szwarc and based on Richard Matheson's novel "Bid Time Return," stars Christopher Reeve as a Chicago playwright who uses self-hypnosis to travel back to 1912 and fall in love with an actress (Jane Seymour) at the Grand Hotel. Christopher Plummer co-stars as the actress's controlling manager who tries to keep them apart.
The film earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Costume Design and won three Saturn Awards (Best Costume, Best Music, Best Fantasy Film). Its score by John Barry, featuring Rachmaninoff's 18th variation of "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini," became iconic. Though it earned a modest $9.7 million at the box office and was initially dismissed by critics, the film developed a devoted cult following. The fan organization INSITE (International Network of Somewhere in Time Enthusiasts) has held an annual weekend at the Grand Hotel since 1991.
Jane Seymour has returned to the island multiple times and has a suite named after her at the hotel. A gazebo built as a prop for the film was later relocated and is now one of the island's most popular wedding venues.
What Is the Mackinac Island Lilac Festival?
The history of lilacs on Mackinac Island predates the festival by well over a century. Lilacs are not native to the Western Hemisphere. They were brought to Mackinac Island by Dutch and French immigrants, likely in the luggage of families moving to the frontier. The Hubbard family, who came from New Hampshire (where lilacs are the state flower), planted them on their farm on the island's west side, an area still known as Hubbard's Annex.
For years, the earliest known documentation of lilacs on the island was Henry David Thoreau's 1861 journal entry noting "apple in blossom and lilac" during a visit the summer before he died of tuberculosis. But recent scholarship by Mackinac State Historic Parks has uncovered two earlier references from the 1840s: a letter from William Mills dated July 3, 1847, and a detailed description by a Boston Post correspondent known as "J.I.M." on June 18, 1845.
Today, Harbour View Inn has the oldest known lilac on the island, and some stems are roughly 200 years old, making them among the oldest in the country, according to the Mackinac Island Tourism Bureau. The island's shallow, well-drained limestone soil with its high pH level creates ideal growing conditions. More than 250 varieties bloom across the island, with Marquette Park alone featuring over 115 plants and 75 species.
Inspired by Washington D.C.'s cherry blossom parades, Evangeline "Ling" Horn and Stella King created Mackinac Island Lilac Day on June 20, 1948. The following year, it became an annual festival, and a six-year-old named Sue Chambers was crowned the first Lilac Queen. Today, the Mackinac Island Lilac Festival is a 10-day celebration each June, recognized as a Local Legacy Event by the Library of Congress. Activities include the Queen coronation, a 10K run/walk, lilac walking tours, live music, and a Grand Parade featuring horse-drawn floats through downtown.
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Mackinac Island Tourism Bureau, Facebook
What Is Mackinac Island Like Today?
Mackinac Island covers approximately 3.8 square miles with a year-round population of roughly 500 to 600 residents. Over a million visitors arrive each summer by ferry from Mackinaw City or St. Ignace (about a 20-minute ride), by private boat, or by small aircraft.
The island is accessible in winter by snowmobile across an ice bridge or by small plane. M-185 remains the only motorless state highway in the country. More than 70 miles of trails wind through the state park. Mission Church, built in 1829, stands as the oldest surviving church building in Michigan.
The Governor's Summer Residence, built in 1902 and purchased by the state in 1943, sits on a bluff overlooking the Straits with views of the Mackinac Bridge. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1997, it is open for free public tours on Wednesdays during summer.
Mackinac Island has about 500 to 600 year-round residents but welcomes over a million visitors annually. The entire island is a National Historic Landmark, 80 percent of it is state park land, and no motor vehicles are allowed.
The Choice That Defined an Island
Mackinac Island is not frozen in time. It is a place that made a choice.
When the automobile arrived promising speed and progress, the island chose slowness. When the modern world demanded efficiency, the island demanded preservation. And that choice, made in 1898 by a handful of carriage operators worried about their horses, became the island's identity.
The Anishinaabe believed this was where the Great Spirit lived. The French saw it as a gateway to empire. The British fortified it. The Americans turned it into a national park. And for more than a century, it has been something else entirely: a refuge, a time capsule, and a reminder that not everything has to move fast.
The Great Turtle still rises from the water. And the world still comes to see it.
If Mackinac Island has inspired you to think about making Michigan home, or if you are curious what your current Michigan home is worth, The Perna Team is always happy to help with a free, no-obligation home valuation or a conversation about finding your perfect spot in Metro Detroit.
Key Takeaways
- Mackinac Island's name comes from the Ojibwe "Michilimackinac," meaning "Great Turtle" or "Big Turtle," and the island has been sacred to the Anishinaabe for over a thousand years.
- The British capture of Fort Mackinac on July 17, 1812 was the first land engagement of the War of 1812, and the Americans failed to retake the island in a bloody August 4, 1814 battle that cost 13 American lives.
- Mackinac Island became America's second national park in 1875, just three years after Yellowstone, thanks to Senator Thomas W. Ferry, who was born on the island.
- The Grand Hotel opened July 10, 1887, built in 93 days, and its 660-foot porch is advertised as the world's longest.
- Mackinac Island banned automobiles on July 6, 1898, and the ban remains in effect today, making M-185 the only state highway in the U.S. where motor vehicles are prohibited.
- The 1980 film "Somewhere in Time" starring Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour, and Christopher Plummer turned the island into a romantic pilgrimage site with an annual fan weekend still held at the Grand Hotel.
- Over a million visitors come each summer, but the year-round population remains only about 500 to 600 people sharing the island with more than 500 horses.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you pronounce "Mackinac"?
Mackinac is pronounced "MACK-ih-naw," not "MACK-ih-nack." The pronunciation follows the original French-Canadian rendering of the Ojibwe word. This applies to both the island and the Straits of Mackinac, though the nearby mainland town spells it "Mackinaw City" to match the pronunciation.
Why are cars not allowed on Mackinac Island?
Cars were banned on Mackinac Island by the Village Council on July 6, 1898, after carriage operators petitioned that horseless carriages frightened the horses tourists relied on for transportation. Michigan formalized the ban into state law in 1960. Today, all transportation on the island is by foot, bicycle, or horse-drawn carriage, with limited exceptions for emergency vehicles and snowmobiles in winter.
Is Mackinac Island worth visiting?
Mackinac Island is consistently ranked among the best island destinations in the continental United States. Visitors come for the car-free roads, the Grand Hotel, Fort Mackinac, Arch Rock's 146-foot natural limestone arch, 13 handmade fudge shops, and the June Lilac Festival. Most visitors find that one full day is enjoyable, but an overnight stay allows time to explore the 70-plus miles of trails and experience the island after the day-trip crowds leave.
When is the best time to visit Mackinac Island?
The island is most popular from late May through early October, with peak season in July and August. June is ideal for the Lilac Festival and smaller crowds. Late September and early October offer fall foliage and reduced rates. Winter visits are possible but extremely limited, as ferries stop running when the straits freeze, and most businesses close for the season.
What happened at Fort Mackinac during the War of 1812?
Fort Mackinac saw two major engagements. On July 17, 1812, British forces and Native allies captured the fort in a surprise attack before the American garrison even knew war had been declared. On August 4, 1814, more than 750 American soldiers attempted to retake the island but were defeated by entrenched British and Native forces. Thirteen Americans were killed, including Major Andrew Holmes, whose name lives on as Fort Holmes at the island's highest point.
How old is the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island?
The Grand Hotel opened on July 10, 1887, making it over 138 years old. It was built in just 93 days by workers paid double wages, funded by railroad and steamship companies. Five sitting or former U.S. presidents have visited, along with Thomas Edison, who demonstrated his phonograph on the hotel's famous 660-foot front porch.
What is the Mackinac Island Lilac Festival?
The Mackinac Island Lilac Festival is a 10-day celebration held each June, recognized by the Library of Congress as a Local Legacy Event. It began as "Lilac Day" in 1948, created by Evangeline Horn and Stella King. The island's lilacs date back roughly 200 years, brought by European immigrants, and more than 250 varieties bloom across the island.
Was a movie filmed on Mackinac Island?
Yes. The 1980 romantic fantasy film "Somewhere in Time," starring Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour, and Christopher Plummer, was filmed primarily at the Grand Hotel and around the island. The production received special permission to bring cars onto the car-free island. The film won three Saturn Awards and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Costume Design.
How do you get to Mackinac Island from Metro Detroit?
From Metro Detroit, the drive to the Mackinac Island ferry docks takes about four to four-and-a-half hours via I-75 North. Ferries depart from both Mackinaw City and St. Ignace, with the ride across the Straits taking approximately 20 minutes. The island is also accessible by private boat or small aircraft. No cars are allowed on the island, so visitors leave their vehicles on the mainland.
Is Mackinac Island a national park?
Mackinac Island was designated America's second national park in 1875, three years after Yellowstone. However, when Fort Mackinac was decommissioned in 1895, the federal government transferred the park to the State of Michigan, making it Michigan's first state park. Today, over 80 percent of the island remains preserved as Mackinac Island State Park, and the entire island is a National Historic Landmark.
How many fudge shops are on Mackinac Island?
Mackinac Island has 13 fudge shops, earning it the nickname "Fudge Capital of the World." The tradition dates to 1887 when the Murdick family opened the first candy shop. Major shops include Original Murdick's, May's (the oldest continuously operating fudge shop), Ryba's, Joann's, and Sanders. Visitors are affectionately called "fudgies" by locals.
What is Arch Rock on Mackinac Island?
Arch Rock is a natural limestone arch standing 146 feet above Lake Huron, spanning more than 50 feet wide. Formed roughly 4,000 to 7,500 years ago during the Nipissing post-glacial period, it is made of breccia limestone, which is rare in the Great Lakes region. Visitors can reach it by climbing 207 steps from the lakeshore or by trail from above. In Ojibwe tradition, the arch served as a gateway for the Great Creator.
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