Grand Island of Alger County

Three hundred years before the arrival of the French explorers and Jesuit Priests, the Ojibwa inhabited the island they called KItchi Minis or Great Island. When the French saw this island they gave the island nearly the same name, Les Grand Isles. The name became anglicized to Grand Island. This jewel of the south shore of Lake Superior rests comfortably in Munising Bay. The island extends eight miles north into the lake and is three miles wide, east to west. The interior holds 13,500 acres of mixed hardwoods and conifers, with two lakes, Duck and Echo, and bountiful wildlife.

Our knowledge of the Island’s history comes from the writings of the Jesuit priests, Henry Schoolcraft, Thomas Mckenney and other early visitors to the island. It is a wonderful and diverse chronicle.

Schoolcraft related the story of the Gallant Thirteen and the Solitary Messenger. Apparently the Grand Island band of Ojibwa has been admonished by the other bands for their lack of an active role in the Sioux wars. The band determined to erase this sigma and prove their manhood by sending thirteen warriors westward into the Sioux territories. The band came upon a very large Sioux war party which outnumbered them 10-1. Given the choice to go home in peace or to suffer the consequences the Chippewa band chose the latter. A lone boy stationed upon a hill overlooking the battle site witnessed the annihilation of the entire band of thirteen and came home as the Solitary Messenger to relate the Gallant Thirteen’s bravery.

Subsequent to the visits of Lewis Cass, Schoolcraft and others, the Northwest Trading Company established a fur trading post on Grand Island which continued in different iterations until the late 1830’s when the American Fur Trading closed it.

In 1840, Abraham Williams, the first white settler on the island moved his family to Grand Island from Illinois. Mr. Williams was a blacksmith, mason, carpenter and builder. He had twelve children and with them literally built all the early buildings on Grand Island. His life and that of his family is forever intertwined with the history of Grand Island.

The island was acquired by the Cleveland Cliffs Iron Company in 1900. The company determined to preserve the wilderness beauty of the island and established the Grand Island Forest and Game Preserve. William Mather’s (the president of the Cleveland Cliffs) vision for Grand Island included the importation of many game animals including elk, caribou, moose, antelope and mule deer. Stream and lakes were stocked with fish and guests invited to enjoy the unspoiled beauty of Grand Island. After Mather’s death in 1951 the island was logged but in 1984 the island was acquired by the U.S. government for a recreational area. Today visitors may access the island by ferry and enjoy hiking, biking, kayaking and camping. A less physically stressful way to visit the island is by van tours. In winter hardy individuals will cross the ice on cross country skis, snowshoes or more commonly snowmobiles. In any season or in any manner the island is a thoroughly delightful place to explore.