Grand Island

Grand Island lies in the southern part of Lake Superior, less than one kilometer north of Munising in Alger County.  Aside from one private parcel, the island is primarily managed as part of the Hiawatha National Forest. At least four substantially different cultural groups influenced the landscape of Grand Island in ways reflective of their societal traditions and perceptions of nature, including the Ojibwa people.  Prior to the first white settlers, fur traders and fishermen explored the area.  The American Fur Company built a post on Grand Island in the mid 1820's.  In addition, maple syrup production and timber harvesting have occurred. Careful observers can still see traces of these activities.

Evidence of active prehistoric cultivation on Grand Island comes from accounts of early travelers who noted old Indian fields during the Historic Ojibwa - Fur Trade Era, 1650-1840 A.D.  French missionaries and fur traders were an important influence on the Ojibwa in the 17th and 18th century, and most importantly, provided those first accounts of Grand Island. Nevertheless, the Ojibwa were still the primary residents of the island until 1840. The Landing area and Murray Bay shoreline harbored sites of Indian occupation and agriculture noted by several travelers toward the end of this period. Most accounts described sites near the south shore of Grand Island. However, these accounts also described seasonal shifting of camps from agricultural grounds and fishing camps on the shores during warm months, to fall and winter hunting grounds in the interior, and to sugar camps in early spring, which may have been located near the old fields. The Indians used the long-fallow method of gardening which may account for Schoolcraft's noting so many "old fields."

Abraham H. Williams and his family were the first Euro-American settlers to live on Grand Island. He and his family moved from Illinois to Grand Island in 1840 to "farm in the wilderness."  Williams had been invited to the island by Chief Omonomonee of the Grand Island band of Ojibwas, whom he had met previously at Sault Ste. Marie.

Williams and the Ojibwa cooperated on many aspects of daily life, which are documented in landscape patterns and accounts of their relationship. Williams traded his blacksmith skills and materials with the Indians for furs, vegetables and maple sugar initially until he was able to plant his own fields and start a sugar bush. After 10 years on the island, Williams had a farm of 40 acres. "The land is rich and the few vegetables remaining in the garden such as potatoes, turnips, beets, and cabbages showed that no better soil was needed for raising the best specimens of their kind."  Williams started his farm in the area where Ojibwa Indians had their fields before he arrived. He used some of the land cleared previously by the Indians to put in his first crops in the spring of 1841.

Williams also operated a fueling station for wood burning steamers for many years. Until coal supplanted wood as a fuel for steamers, the island was a popular stopping point to replenish cordwood stocks. An early steamer had to stop for wood every eight to ten hours.

Grand Island was known to the native Chippewa as Kitchi Miniss, meaning "great island." The island's Murray Bay is named for John Murray, one of the earliest settlers. The story goes that he was born in Ireland in the early 1800's and educated for the priesthood. Unfortunately, he fell in love with a girl who was evidently betrothed to his cousin. The two men fought a bloody duel over the Irish lass resulting in the death of his cousin and Murray running off to America. After working as a clerk and accountant in New York, he migrated west, eventually reaching Grand Island. There he built a small house on the point of today's Murray Bay and made use of his education by working as a teacher for the children of Abraham Williams and later his grandchildren. By all accounts he was an excellent teacher. Perhaps morose over love long lost, Murray became addicted to drink and as he aged, gradually evolved into a near hermit, staying close to his small home. It was said he often spoke to imaginary visitors as well as unidentified "spirits." He died in 1884.

Henry Schoolcraft, a noteworthy visitor to the island, wrote prolifically of his travels and impressions of Indian life. It is said that, through his writings, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, was inspired to write "The Song of the Hiawatha" in 1855.  However, it is Schoolcraft's census work that has been especially valuable to the historic record and provides the best evidence for historic Indian agriculture. The Indian census of 1853 by Schoolcraft showed that the Grand Island band of Ojibwa cultivated five acres of land during this period, raised 600 pounds of potatoes, manufactured 3,500 pounds of maple syrup, and collected around 100 skins a year trapping. They had one fishery which produced 25 barrels of fish a year and hunted game as well. The group owned 30 hoes, 47 broad and narrow axes, and used 600 kettles for their maple syrup production.

Up until 1855 the Chippewa Indians had reservations on Grand Island and in the Munising area.

Unquestionable landscape changes to Grand Island came at the turn of the century with sale of a large portion of the land to Cleveland Cliffs Iron Company. Even with CCI President William Mather's attempts to preserve the island's beauty and natural state, the influx of visitors and resortees, commercialization of hunting and sugaring, and the departure of the Ojibwa people from the island following Williams' death in 1873, created many landscape changes.

Again, the same primary land areas were utilized that had been in earlier time periods with the expansion of agriculture from the Landing area to the orchard, sugar camps and Farm area, which were used for commercial production during this period. At the same time, the density of structures; homes, cabins, hotel, and auxiliary buildings along Murray Bay shoreline increased greatly. Ironically, in the midst of the increased activity, farming ceased on Williams' old fields.

Mather continued to grow plants that Williams had, such as potatoes, hay, and turnips for hotel guests, but added other crops such as carrots, oats, timothy and alsike to feed the stocked game animals. His staff also planted wild rice, celery, cranberries, sand cherries, cherry trees, mulberry, plums and apples.

Today, the 21 residents of Grand Island live in houses that are are all down around the Southern coast.  There, they get some protection from the storms that come rolling across Lake Superior.