South Manitou Island History

South Manitou Island Dance

NPS Photo

Legacies of the Land

South Manitou Island was once the center of civilization and commerce in the Manitou Passage. The Anishinabek people’s connection to the island and surrounding area goes back thousands of years. They used the area as seasonal hunting grounds, a critical trading route, and ceremonial ground.

Land of New Beginnings

With the completion of the Erie Canal in 1826, the Great Lakes became the primary method of westward expansion. The Manitou Passage, and more specifically South Manitou Island, became incredibly important as the only deepwater harbor from Buffalo to Chicago and the only shelter for ships traveling Lake Michigan.

The first settlement was established in 1838 by William Burton, who built a dock in Crescent Bay to provide cordwood to fuel the passing steamships. By 1847 the village included a blacksmith shop, general store, and a wooden railroad track to haul wood from the interior of the island to the dock. This was also where the first post office was built in 1879.

 

Winter 1941 South Manitou Lighthouse

NPS Photo

Lights and Life Savers

Recognizing the importance and the dangers of the Manitou Passage, Congress appropriated five thousand dollars in 1838 to build a lighthouse on South Manitou Island equipped with a fourth order Fresnel Lens with a range of 15 miles. The U.S. Lighthouse Establishment replaced this first lighthouse with a taller one, built nearby in 1858. To accommodate ever increasing shipping on the Great Lakes, the lighthouse was changed again in 1871 with an even taller tower and a more powerful third order lens.
To help ensure the safety of ships crews, a life saving station was established on the island in 1901.

 

South Manitou Island U.S. Life-Saving Service with surfboat

NPS Photo

 

Newly built South Manitou Island Schoolhouse

NPS Photo

Golden Age

As the woodcutters cleared the island of trees it became increasingly attractive to prospective farmers. The first homestead claim was made by George Hutzler in 1863 and seven more were made by 1868. The year-round population of the island stood at seventy-four in 1860 and ninety-eight in 1880, with farming, fishing, and logging being the main occupations. Islanders largely led subsistence-style lives, growing a wide variety of crops in addition to gathering wild berries, mushrooms, maple sap, and ginseng. In the winters they harvested ice and cut timber.
Much of the sand and gravel used to rebuild Chicago after the Great Fire of 1871 was provided by the Garden City Sand Company. The company bought land on South Manitou and sent barges to excavate the sand and gravel and transport it to Chicago.

 

Farm on South Manitou

NPS Photo

Rye and Beans

The Michigan Agricultural College (now Michigan State University) selected South Manitou Island as an experiment station. The island's isolation made it a great place to grow seeds for certain crops. The absence of pollen from the mainland mean the seeds would be genetically pure and valuable.

The first of these seed experiments was Rosen Rye. The seeds for this variety of grain were brought to the United States in 1909 by a Russian student named Rosen. Rye is primarily used for making bread and alcohol. Rosen Rye thrives in the sandy soil of northern Michigan. This variety was also grown for its seeds, which were grown by farmers across the region.

The second seed experiment was the Michelite bean. This variety of navy bean was invented by state researchers and the seeds for them were grown on South Manitou Island. These bean seeds were distributed to farmers across the Midwest in the 1940s, and they were used to feed the troops during World War II. Prize winning Rosen Rye and Michelite beans were grown on the island into the 1940s.

 

As coal and fuel oil became cheaper and more efficient, fewer and fewer ships stopped at South Manitou Island. Transporting supplies and agricultural products to and from the island became more difficult and expensive. In the 1940s, several families began leaving the island.

As maritime technology improved the need for lighthouses and life-saving stations decreased. Both the South Manitou Island Lighthouse and Life Saving Station, now under the control of the U.S. Coast Guard, were decommissioned in 1958. They took with them a significant portion of the island’s population. The last family, Ed and Esther Riker, left the island in 1974.

Preserving the Islands

In 1970 Congress authorized the creation of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. North and South Manitou Island were included within the National Lakeshore. The majority of South Manitou Island is designated wilderness, areas not part of the designated wilderness include the South Manitou Island Complex. These areas are focused on protecting and preserving the historic and cultural resources for current and future generations.