Little Traverse Bay, Past and Present

1. Petoskey

Petoskey 21 Petoskey 22 Petoskey Petoskey, Michigan, Oct. 30, 1882 Dear Friend Della, I believe I have not written to you since I came to my new home. It is a year now since we came and it seems very much like home.There is said to be nearly two thousand inhabitants and the place is growing all the time. We have a house and lot situated on a little rise of ground so that we have a view of the whole town and the bay and the county seat four miles across the bay.There is a natural harbor there and for that reason, the place is called “Harbor Springs.” I have never lived in so sightly a place before. It is just like looking at a beautiful landscape painting only more beautiful, of course, because it is real nature.The town is full of tourists from about July until the last of September. Camp meetings are held here every year. It is nice to see the steamers on the bay.There are several that come only once a week and four or five that are here everyday. Besides there is a little ferry steamer running back and forth from the Harbor to this place.The railroad runs now through to the straits of Mackinac. . . . It is only seven years since the town was first started. It was inhabited by a tribe of Indians called the Petoskeys and it is named after them.The old chief is still alive. He is about an hundred years old.Three of his sons are near neighbors to us [and] live in good houses furnished nice and they dress well for they are all rich. One of the sons is a merchant. Land can be bought here from two to two hundred dollars an acre.The price depends on the situation and amount of clearing. We have not bought a farm yet but intend to as soon as we can. Mary Denton, Petoskey, Mich. Box 262 (Author’s collection) Petoskey 23 oday Petoskey is a well-established community with a thriving economy, but when Mary Denton wrote this letter, it was just discovering what it would become. Prior to the railroad’s arrival in 1873, the area had a significant Native American population and only a handful of white settlers. Provisions of theTreaty of 1855 promised individual Native Americans the right to property, but in April 1875 non-Natives secured the legal right to buy government holdings, and land speculators, Civil War veterans, and fortune seekers flooded the area—and all were buying.When it became possible for whites to buy government land, over 800 homestead claims were filed within the first three days. At that time, Petoskey’s population was only 150, and these new arrivals overwhelmed the community’s ability to provide essentials like housing and food, meaning the winters of 1875 and 1876 were filled with hardships. But as the years went by, the economy righted itself and soon the town was filled with the stores, churches, and schools that T (Courtesy of Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University) 24 Petoskey companies ran regular trains to and from Petoskey, and steamships made regular stops at the pier. Summer visitors could enjoy firstclass accommodations and food, with music performed throughout the day and night by professional orchestras.Those on more modest budgets could take advantage of friendly boardinghouses, restaurants, bars, and free sunsets. the year-round residents needed. But for most Native Americans this influx of outsiders had a devastating effect.They often lost legal rights to property promised to them and were denied access to the land and way of life their ancestors had enjoyed for centuries. By the 1880s a largely tourist economy emerged, supplemented by limestone work and wood-related mills. By 1892 two railroad (Author’s collection) Petoskey 25 (Rebecca Zeiss) 26 Petoskey This transition to a tourist-based economy was the result of a concerted effort on the part of large railroad and steamship companies as well as local businesses. Although visitors could still sometimes overwhelm the local population, they were increasingly the city’s financial lifeblood.This relationship between town and tourist remains the same today, as that tourist-based economy continues. (Author’s collection) (Author’s collection) Petoskey...