|
Neebish Island is located in the U.S. state of Michigan, in the St. Marys River that connects Lake Superior and Lake Huron at the easternmost point of Michigan's upper peninsula. Located west of the international border that separates the United States from the Canadian province of Ontario, the island forms an important junction of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence seaway. Ship traffic heading up to Lake Superior pass on the island's east side, while down-bound traffic to Lake Huron passes through a deepened channel on the island's west side. The island has a permanent resident population of nearly 90 and is a destination for seasonal cottagers and campers. ==History== By the time the first Europeans arrived in the early 1600s, the area around Neebish was shared by the Ojibwe, Odawa and Potawatomi whose Algonkian ancestors had come from the east around 1200. The island is believed to have taken its name from the Ojibwe word ''aniibiish'' meaning "leaf".〔William Bright. Native American Placenames of the United States. University of Oklahoma Press (2004). p.120 and Joseph E. and Estelle L. Bayliss. ''River of Destiny: The Saint Marys''. Wayne University Press, Detroit. 1955. p.167.〕 Following the Anglo-American War of 1812, British and American negotiators agreed to settle long-standing border disputes in the Great Lakes and elsewhere by appointing commissioners to survey the boundary and determine the actual border between the United States and Canada envisioned in the original Treaty of Paris of 1783. It was at this time that Neebish came to be known as St. Tammany Island. The name was offered by Anthony Barclay, the British boundary commissioner as a compliment to the United States given that Tammany was considered the Indian saint of New Englanders.〔Joseph E. and Estelle L. Bayliss. ''River of Destiny: The Saint Marys''. Wayne University Press, Detroit. 1955. p. 314 Note 3.〕 While St. Tammany was used in the commission's maps and reports, the name did not survive long after. In 1821, the commissioners of both countries consented to appoint the island to the United States.〔Joseph E. and Estelle L. Bayliss. River of Destiny: The Saint Marys. Wayne University Press, Detroit. 1955. p.69.〕 Originally, the channel between the island and the Michigan mainland was only navigable by very small craft. As a result, the earliest settlements occurred on east side, particularly on Little Neebish - a small island on the south east of the main island. In 1853, Major William Rains was among the first to settle on Little Neebish. Rains, a British national, had attempted to start a colony on neighbouring St. Joseph Island in the 1830s. When this venture failed, Rains and his family moved to the southwest of that island and then to Little Neebish, which for a time bore his name as Rains Island.〔Joseph E. and Estelle L. Bayliss. River of Destiny: The Saint Marys. Wayne University Press, Detroit. 1955. p.167-8〕 A saw mill, employing 150 men at one point, operated on the island near the creek between Big Neebish and Little Neebish from 1877 to 1893.〔Joseph E. and Estelle L. Bayliss. River of Destiny: The Saint Marys. Wayne University Press, Detroit. 1955. p.168〕 The island had its own telephone service, the Neebish Mutual Telephone Company, beginning in 1924〔Joseph E. and Estelle L. Bayliss. River of Destiny: The Saint Marys. Wayne University Press, Detroit. 1955. p.169〕 and electrical power was brought to islanders in the mid-1950s.〔Joseph E. and Estelle L. Bayliss. River of Destiny: The Saint Marys. Wayne University Press, Detroit. 1955. p.169〕 With no bridge to service the island, a privately run car ferry began operating on the west side of the island in 1933. In 1980, this service was assumed by the Eastern Upper Peninsula Transportation Authority. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Neebish Island」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|