A friend sent me a column from a Cheboygan newspaper, The Democrat, that was printed in 1875. This was very early in the history of Cheboygan County, for our first permanent settler arrived in the 1850’s. Remarkably, copies of these very early Democrat newspapers can be obtained at Central Michigan University. This very old newspaper contains much history of early Cheboygan County. Today’s column is taken from this newspaper and it will review how Cheboygan County and its vicinity began.
Our story begins on June 1, 1637, when a baby was born, in Layon, France, to Nicholas Marquette and Rose de Salle. The new baby was named Jacques [James] Marquette. James grew up and he joined the Society of Jesus at age 17. He taught in France for a time and he was later assigned in 1666 as a missionary to the indigenous people of America. He was assigned to the Indians in the western Great Lakes region, and learned Indian languages quickly, especially that of the Huron tribe.
Father Marquette founded Michigan’s first European settlement at Sault St. Marie, in 1668. He established the first Christian place of worship in what is now the State of Michigan, and he constructed a rude chapel and a home in Sault St. Marie. He later founded St .Ignace in 1671.
Father Marquette was not only was a missionary to the Indians, but also an explorer. In his canoe, sometimes with other Jesuits, he followed the shorelines of the Great Lakes and he selected sites for future missions to be built. He recognized the huge value of the area at the Straits of Mackinaw.
He next established another mission at La Pointe, on Lake Superior, which is in Wisconsin. He continued to explore and he met the Huron Indian tribe, which informed him of a water route that, with a short portage, would take him to the northern Mississippi River. From here he explored the northern portion of the Mississippi River. He and his companions were the first white people to later camp at and see the area which would become Chicago. They next canoed up the east side of Lake Michigan and in the area that is now near Ludington, Michigan. He became ill with dysentery and he died on May 18, 1675. He was 37 years old. He left missions at our northern Mackinac area that would later attract settlers to the Cheboygan County area. This is what he wrote before he died [ “This place is the most noted in this region for the abundance of its fisheries, for according to the Indians saying ‘This is the home of the fishes.’ It is this attraction which has heretofore drawn to a point so advantageous, the greater part of this country.”
Our recorded history begins here, where the waters of Lake Huron and Lake Michigan connect and part of that area is in our own Cheboygan County. Indian tribes had long recognized the Mackinac area as a great rallying point where they could come, often from long distances away, to unite against a common foe. Next would come the French, the English, and the Americans and they would contribute to a diversified history that would exert a large influence on the history of our nation. The advantages of our region at the straits as a valuable central point were demonstrated by Father Marquette. In later years, John Jacob Astor, of New York, director of the Astor Fur Company, located his headquarters at Mackinaw Island. Here he distributed his supplies to his agents and here they received furs from Indians and trappers. The Mackinac area would be, later, where the Indians would come, from many other areas, often from long distances, to receive their annuities. A great number of intelligent and hard working immigrants gradually arrived to create a vibrant and beautiful Northern Michigan county. And so much of this history has been written and preserved in a very early newspaper, The Cheboygan Democrat!