Michigan State Highway Ferries 100th Anniversary Posted September 15, 2023 The Sainte IgnaceThis summer marked the 100th anniversary of the Michigan State Highway ferry service going into operation. The service was started to get automobiles and their drivers across the Straits of Mackinac in a timely fashion. Prior to the service being instituted, the Mackinac Transportation Company and their two railroad car ferries, Chief Wawatam and Sainte Marie carried automobiles across when possible. In 1917 when the first automobiles were taken across, it cost $40 and the car had to be loaded on a railway flat car. On top of that, the automobile had to be drained of gasoline due to maritime regulations. By the early 1920’s, several drivers had complained to Governor Alex Groesbeck, who asked legislators to approve a state-run ferry.The ArielThe Mackinaw City The first ship purchased by the state was the Ariel which could haul 20 automobiles. On August 6, 1923, she made her first trip and by November when the season ended she had carried around 10,000 cars. The highway department purchased two more vessels that year, the Colonel Pond and Colonel Card which became the Sainte Ignace and Mackinaw City. Along with the purchase of ships, the state bought a dock in St. Ignace and adapted part of the railroad dock in Mackinaw City to load and unload the cars. By 1925, the state had purchased shoreline property in Mackinaw City and had a 1,400-foot causeway built. The state ordered its first ferry in 1927 and it was christened, The Straits of Mackinac, which could carry 50 cars.The City of CheboyganThe City of Munising During the 1930’s, the highway department improved the docks on both sides of the straits by making them bigger for the increasing demand in auto traffic. Restrooms, large parking lots for waiting motorists and elevators for lifting cars to the second deck of the ferries were constructed. More ferries were added to the fleet; instead of building new ships, unused Lake Michigan railroad ferries were acquired. The first was the Ann Arbor No. 4 which became the City of Cheboygan in 1937. One year later the Pere Marquette No. 20 was purchased and became the City of Munising. Rounding out the decade was the addition of the Pere Marquette No. 17 which became the City of Petoskey in 1940.The City of Petoskey Rationing of gasoline and tires during World War II saw most of the ferries sitting idle but the post-war saw an increase in crossings. Three of the ships were altered by adding seagates to the bow allowing for faster loading and unloading. In 1948, the ferry service celebrated its 25th anniversary with several events including a parade, coronation ball, swimming race to Mackinac Island and a special moonlight cruise aboard The Straits of Mackinac. One of the highlights was models of the new icebreaking ferry the state proposed to build. One year later, construction began on the 360-foot-long, diesel-powered Vacationland. The ship had pilothouses and double propellors on both ends and could carry 150 automobiles. The Vacationland arrived in St. Ignace January 12, 1952 and immediately began hauling cars across. Due to her size and power plant, new slips were constructed in St. Ignace and Mackinaw City along with storage tanks to supply the ship with diesel and lubricating oil. As the ship began her service, plans were underway to construction a new way to cross the straits. In 1954, funds were obtained to start construction of the Mackinac Bridge which was completed in 1957. One of the stipulations of construction was that the highway ferries would stop running the day the bridge opened. The ferries were eventually sold, the City of Cheboygan and City of Munising being used to store and ship potatoes from Washington Island, Wisconsin. The City of Petoskey was sold for scrap and The Straits of Mackinac ferried tourists to Mackinac Island. She was the last surviving ferry eventually being sunk as a dive site off Chicago in 2005.The Vacationland The Vacationland was sold and renamed Jack Dalton hauling trucks between Detroit and Cleveland. The venture lasted only a few months and the state repossessed the ship after failed payments. The vessel was sold again to North-South Navigation Company in 1961 and renamed Pere Nouvel. She returned to her role as an automobile ferry crossing the St. Lawrence River between Rimouski and Baie Comeau, Quebec. In 1967, she sailed to the West Coast of Canada serving British Columbia as the Sunshine Coast Queen until 1977. After an attempt to make her an oil drilling support ship on Alaska’s North Slope, she was sold to a company in Washington for scrap. She was to be towed to China but on December 3, 1987, the tow ran into an early winter storm and the ship began to take on water. The ship sank in the Pacific Ocean about 100 miles offshore in deep water with no loss of life.
The First North American Christmas Carol Posted December 20, 2022 If you were able to attend the Colonial Christmas event at Colonial Michilimackinac, you experienced part of how Christmas was celebrated at the Mission of St. Ignace at Michilimackinac in 1679. An earlier Jesuit Christmas celebration resulted in the first North American Christmas carol, the Huron Carol. Father Jean de Brebéuf, born in France in 1593, began his missionary work in New France in 1625. A member of the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits, he worked mostly among the Wendat, also known as the Huron, near Georgian Bay. He became fluent in their language and, among other linguistic work, translated the catechism into Wendat. In about 1642 Brebéuf wrote “Jesous Ahatonhia” (Jesus, he is born) in Wendat as a Christmas carol for the Wendat he lived among and hoped to convert. It fits the traditional French folk tune “Une Jeune Pucelle.” Father Brebéuf was executed by the Haudenosaunee, also known as the Iroquois, in 1649, but “Jesous Ahatonhia” lived on among the Wendat. It was documented by Jesuit Father Etienne Thomas de Villeneuve Girault at Lorette, Quebec, between 1747 and 1794. It was translated into French by Paul Tsawenhohi (aka Picard), a Wendat notary at Quebec City. It was translated into English in the early twentieth century. “Twas in the Moon of Wintertime,” the most widely known version in the United States, was written by Jesse Edgar Middleton in 1926. It is not a direct translation, but a romanticized version, lumping stereotypes of many Native American cultures together. To hear “Jesous Ahatonhia” in the original Wendat, French, and a more accurate English translation, as well as to see it in American Sign Language click here or watch below:
Chief Wawatam 110th Launching Anniversary Posted August 27, 2021 Frank Kirby Due to increased railroad traffic across the Straits of Mackinac, the Mackinac Transportation Company decided in 1910 that a new ferry needed to be built. The company had two ferries at the time, the St. Ignace, built in 1888, and the revolutionary Sainte Marie, completed in 1893. These vessels had been designed by noted Great Lakes naval architect Frank Kirby and he was asked to plan the new ship. The keel was laid on June 1, 1911 at the Toledo Shipbuilding Company of Toledo, Ohio as hull number 119. The ship was christened Chief Wawatam after an Ojibway Indian who befriended British fur trader Alexander Henry in the 1760s.Captain Louis Boynton At 9:10 a.m. on August 26, 1911, the Chief Wawatam was side launched with no ceremony or traditional breaking of champagne on her bow. Charles Calder, part owner of the shipyard, recorded that it was a clear day and the launching proceeded with “not a scratch on her hull.” The ship was 338 feet long, 62 feet wide and had a draft of 20.7 feet. Built with a steel hull, she would be the largest and most powerful railroad ferry to serve the straits. She could carry 28 to 32 railroad cars depending on their size. The hull was taken to a fit-out dock where work was completed. The ship set sail for the straits on October 16, 1911 with Commodore Louis Boynton in command. The Chief was constructed with many unique features including three engines, two in the stern for propulsion and one in the bow for ice breaking. The bow propellor first appeared on the St. Ignace after Boynton successfully used two vessels tied bow to bow to break ice. The ship was one of the first to have electricity for lighting although lanterns continued to be carried as backup. In order to protect the open bow, the anchor was placed on the stern. Thus, the vessel could anchor stern-to during a storm preventing water from entering through the sea gate. For many years, the ship bore the words “U.S. Mail” on her bow as she carried letters and packages between the two peninsulas. The Chief Wawatam operated at the Straits of Mackinac until August of 1984 when the railroad pier in St. Ignace collapsed. The ship remained tied to the dock until 1988 when the State of Michigan, which owned the vessel, sold it to Purvis Marine Limited of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Prior to her departure, numerous objects, paper material and other items were selected and removed by Mackinac State Historic Parks staff. The plan was for the state park to store the collection until a transportation museum in St. Ignace could be built. Funding for the museum fell through and the state park continues to be the home for the collection. Objects including the ship’s steering wheel and engine room telegraph are on display in the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse.
Early Christmas at Mackinac Posted December 25, 2020 In the midst of the holiday season, and with Christmas upon us, let’s take a look at one of the earliest recorded Christmas celebrations in the Straits of Mackinac.This map, drawn around 1717, shows the location of the original St. Ignace Mission, labeled “maison des Jesuits,” as well as the Odawa and Huron communities nearby. Edward Ayer Collection, Newberry Library During the winter of 1679, Fr. Jean Enjalran supervised the Jesuit mission of St Ignace. Originally intended to serve a group of refugee Huron people brought to Mackinac by Fr. Jacques Marquette, the mission also served converts among the local Odawa. Combined with ministering to a French trading settlement that sprang up soon after the mission’s founding in 1671, Fr. Enjalran spent much of his time preaching to Native converts and instructing them in the Catholic faith. There were so many Odawa people living near the St. Ignace mission that the Jesuits eventually set up a smaller church, dedicated to St. Francis de Borgia, to specifically minister in their communities.During one of the Christmas processions the Huron carried a banner depicting the Holy House of Loreto, which some believe was the house that Joseph, Mary, and Jesus lived in while Christ was a child. The remains of the house are now enshrined in the Basilica della Santa Casa in Loreto, Italy. This image may have been chosen thanks to the Huron’s familiarity with Fr. Pierre-Joseph-Marie Chaumonot, another Jesuit who worked extensively with the tribe in New France and who felt a special connection with the Holy House after visiting multiple times before sailing for Canada. During the Christmas season, Fr. Enjalran supervised an elaborate series of services, processions, and feasts to mark the birth of Christ. In preparation, the Huron converts built a grotto in the mission church, complete with a cradle and a statue of the infant Jesus. After Fr. Enjalran conducted a midnight mass on Christmas, the Hurons and some of the Odawa asked that the priest bring the statue to their villages. Instead of simply moving the statue, the Hurons planned an elaborate procession for Epiphany, recreating the visit of the Magi to the infant Christ. The Hurons, including those who were not converts, split into three large groups, each with a tribal leader wearing a crown and carrying a scepter to represent the three kings and accompanied by the sounds of trumpets. Proceeded by a banner carried on standard depicting a star on a sky-blue field, the three groups marched to the church, where they presented gifts to at the grotto and prayed. Fr. Enjalran then wrapped the statue in a fine linen cloth, and followed the procession, this time led by two Frenchmen carrying a banner depicting Mary and Jesus, to the Huron village. Once there, all of the Hurons, including those who had not converted to Christianity, participated in a dance and feast. A week later Fr. Enjalran supervised a similar procession, with the Huron this time visiting the Odawa community for another feast. A complete description of these rituals can be found in the Jesuit Relations of 1679, vol. 61. We hope that you enjoy this festive season. From all of us at Mackinac State Historic Parks, happy holidays!
Chief Wawatam Archival Collection Posted December 12, 2019 In the fall of 1911, the railroad ferry Chief Wawatam arrived in the Straits of Mackinac to begin a career which lasted 73 years. The Mackinac Transportation Company built the ship to haul railroad cars between Mackinaw City and St. Ignace. The ship could carry 18-26 cars depending upon their size and unlike previous ferries that worked the straits, the Chief Wawatam was built entirely of steel. Along with freight cars, the ship carried passenger train cars, automobiles, soldiers and passengers. At 338 feet, she was the largest railroad ferry at the straits and served the longest, until 1984. (more…)
Railroads in Mackinaw City Posted April 5, 2019 An early 1880s ad for the Grand Rapids and Indiana. Although platted in 1857, Mackinaw City remained undeveloped until about 1870. By then a village stood on the shores of the Straits of Mackinac, and steamboats linked the community with cities around the Great Lakes. However, the town remained small and isolated until 1881, when the first train arrived. The Michigan Central Railroad was the first to reach Mackinaw, running north from Detroit through Saginaw. George Stimpson, an early settler and prominent resident, drove the final spike. A year later, the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad also reached the straits, linking Mackinaw City with Traverse City, Grand Rapids, and Fort Wayne, Indiana. On the north shore, meanwhile, the Detroit, Mackinac and Marquette Railroad ran west from St. Ignace across the Upper Peninsula. The railroads brought increased traffic to the straits and Mackinaw City grew quickly, formally incorporating as a village in 1882. (more…)
Winter at Old Mackinac Point Posted January 4, 2019 At most light stations on the Great Lakes, winter was a quiet time for the lightkeepers. With commercial freighters and passenger vessels frozen in their harbors for the winter, there was little traffic on the lakes to warrant keeping light stations operational. Some remote lights were even abandoned every winter, with crews returning only when the ice began to break up in the spring. At Old Mackinac Point, however, keepers stayed at the station and even continued to work once snow started falling. (more…)
It Could Be Another Good Winter To See Snowy Owls Posted December 7, 2017 Snowy Owls have recently been observed on Mackinac Island, in St. Ignace, Mackinaw City, and Cheboygan and on the Mackinac Bridge. It is still the first week of December but these beautiful arctic visitors are appearing throughout the Midwest in relatively large numbers. If they continue to arrive at this rate, we may be able to enjoy watching them in the Straits area all winter long. (more…)
Ste. Anne de Michilimackinac Posted October 27, 2017 A recent wedding at the church. After the question is popped, the real fun begins- planning the wedding. One of the most exciting and challenging tasks is finding the perfect location for the memorable day. Outdoor or indoor venue? Intimate or spacious? In a busy city or tucked away on a quiet beach? The options are endless. Mackinac State Historic Parks offers ten historic wedding venues on Mackinac Island and in Mackinaw City. One of our truly unique historic wedding venues is the Ste. Anne de Michilimackinac church. Located in Colonial Michilimakinac, this reconstruction was built on the original location of the 18th-century church. (more…)
Historic Solar Events at the Straits: The Parhelion of 1671 Posted August 21, 2017 The solar eclipse which will take place on August 21 will be the first total eclipse of the sun visible across the entire United States in nearly 100 years. The path of the totality of the eclipse (the area where the moon will perfectly align with the sun, momentarily but completely blocking the view of the sun from the ground) will pass south of the Straits of Mackinac, but viewers in northern Michigan will still be able to see the moon block about 75% of the sun. (more…)
