County note shelf
Mackinac County Porch Notes
Stories, practical details, outdoor places, tax quirks, and local history connected to Mackinac County. This shelf has 4 practical notes and 19 local stories.
23 notes
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- History and cultureA short history of Mackinac IslandMackinac Island's story runs from Anishinaabe sacred ground to Fort Mackinac, Victorian cottages, the Grand Hotel, and island fudge.
- OutdoorsBois Blanc, the island time forgotBois Blanc Island is a remote, wooded Mackinac County island with dirt roads, state forest, inland lakes, and quiet shoreline.
- Money and taxesDoes St. Ignace have a city income tax?St. Ignace and the rest of Mackinac County do not levy a local city income tax.
- OutdoorsLes Cheneaux: sheltered channels and a wooden-boat traditionClark Township is the mainland gateway to a 36-island Lake Huron archipelago, sheltered boating channels, and an antique wooden-boat show that began in 1978.
- Cars and drivingMackinac Island, the island with no carsMackinac Island asks ordinary visitors to leave their cars on the mainland. Walking, bicycles, horses, and winter snowmobiles shape daily travel.
- OutdoorsNaubinway at the top of Lake MichiganThis small Garfield Township community has built an identity around Lake Michigan's northern shore, its working fishing port, and a marina marker that makes the claim visible.
- History and cultureSt. Ignace grew around a mission at an older Straits crossroadsThe Straits were already a central Anishinaabe place when a Jesuit mission took root near Odawa and Huron communities around 1671-72.
- OutdoorsThe Lake Michigan shore and the Cut River BridgeBrevort anchors a quiet Lake Michigan shore of US-2 beaches, dunes, Hiawatha National Forest, and the nearby Cut River Bridge.
- History and cultureThe Mackinac Bridge from the St. Ignace sideSt. Ignace sits at the north end of the five-mile Mackinac Bridge. The state ferries stopped when the bridge opened on November 1, 1957.
- History and cultureGrand Hotel's 660-Foot Front PorchGrand Hotel says its Mackinac Island porch stretches 660 feet and is the world's largest. The length is documented by the hotel; the ranking is its claim.
- History and cultureHow a Tiny Island Became the "Fudge Capital of the World"Mackinac Island is the "Fudge Capital of the World," a tradition the Murdick family started in 1887 with marble-slab fudge and aroma-fans.
- History and cultureHow Do You Actually Pronounce "Mackinac"?Mackinac — the bridge, island, and straits — is pronounced MACK-in-aw, with a silent 'c,' thanks to a French respelling of an Ojibwe name. Here's the rule for Michigan's tricky place names.
- History and cultureThe Michigan Island That Banned Cars in 1898 — and Never Took It BackMackinac Island adopted its local automobile ban in 1898, and the state park followed in 1901. Visitors still leave ordinary cars on the mainland.
- History and cultureThe Spot Where Your Eyes Lie to YouSt. Ignace's Mystery Spot plays with apparent level and balance. Its surveyor origin is site lore; research on similar attractions explains the visual trick.
- History and cultureRound Island: The Little Lighthouse That Became a Movie StarA picture-perfect red-and-white lighthouse near Mackinac Island that nearly fell to ruin before locals saved it — and that you may recognize from the film 'Somewhere in Time'.
- History and cultureWhy Does the Upper Peninsula Belong to Michigan and Not Wisconsin?Michigan Territory already included the eastern U.P. in 1805. The 1836 statehood compromise added the rest after Michigan gave up its claim to Toledo.
- History and cultureHas wind ever blown a car off the Mackinac Bridge?No. The Mackinac Bridge Authority says two vehicles have gone over the railing since 1957, but neither case was a vehicle being blown off by wind.
- History and cultureWhat's a "Yooper"? What's a "Troll"? And Why Do People Point at Their Hand?A Yooper is from the Upper Peninsula, a Troll lives 'under the bridge' in the Lower, a Fudgie is a tourist — and yes, Michiganders really do use their hand as a map.
- History and cultureWhy the Lower Peninsula Looks Like a Mitten — and How the Two Peninsulas ConnectMichigan's two main peninsulas are separated by the Straits of Mackinac. The five-mile Mackinac Bridge has carried road traffic between them since 1957.
- OutdoorsThe Dwarf Lake IrisMichigan's state wildflower is a tiny, vivid blue-violet iris that grows almost nowhere else on Earth — only along the northern shores of Lakes Michigan and Huron.
- Home and propertyWells, septic systems, and what to check before you buyMackinac County township buyers should check private wells and septic systems because there is no automatic sale-time inspection rule.
- Money and taxesBuying in a township? Watch for special assessments on top of your taxesMichigan township buyers should check for special assessments that can add separate road, sewer, water, lighting, sidewalk, or drain charges.
- Money and taxesIn Michigan, you get two property-tax bills a year — not oneMost Michigan property owners get separate summer and winter tax bills, with local rules deciding what lands on each bill.