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Mt. Pisgah is the highest point on Beaver Island. At 700 feet above sea level, it is merely a high sand dune, so named by the Mormons, actually one of two partners dunes where you could once climb to view eagles. The eagles are still there, Beaver Island is still isolated enough to climb to the top, get naked and howl. One of the few places left in a civilized world where you can be totally alone in the woods, by a river or on a beach. The dune overlooks beautiful Donegal Bay, a fantastic sunset strewn beach where it is still possible to go and only be around less than 50 people. Many times, it is totally isolated...
Written Apr 21, 2007
Address: Northern Michigan, Beaver Island, Michigan
Website: www.beaverisland.org
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The Beaver Island toy museum. Lots of neat old toys to see, and a whole bunch of fun toys for sale. Located at the north end of St. James.
Written Oct 4, 2002
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Beaver Island has a neat combination of sandy beahes as well as the typical rocky Lake Michigan beaches. The sandy beaches really reminded me of Rhode Island, which was a neat suprise to find in the middle of Lake Michigan.
Updated Oct 4, 2002
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One of the most memorable things to me about Beaver Island was the diversity of natural settings. There are wide-open fields of grasses and wildflowers, wooded inland lakes, sandy beaches, rocky beaches, thick forests, small bluffs. To the left is one of the many inland lakes, which I hear are pretty good for fishing.
Written Oct 4, 2002
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Nina's restaurant at the Beaver Island Lodge
The restaurant is nestled on a wooded bluff overlooking a beach, with a wonderful view of expansive Lake Michigan through the large windows of the dining area.
Favorite Dish: Serves 'American food' as well as regional specialties, all of it good.
Written Oct 4, 2002
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A map of the island from 1852. The island is accessible by boat, and has a marina. There is also a carferry that runs from Charlevoix, Michigan, if I'm not mistaken. The island is actually quite big, and I suggest having car to explore the beautiful wooded roads, fields, beaches, and historical sites of the island. There are also two airstrips that can land small planes.
Written Oct 4, 2002
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Favorite thing: Strang met Mormon founder Joseph Smith in 1844 and converted to his new evangelical religion, supposedly as a way of improving his position in life. When Smith was killed, Strang produced a letter naming him as Smith's chosen heir. He was challenged by Brigham Young, who was more solidly established in the church, and lost. Strang led those who chose to accept him to Illinois, and then southern Wisconsin, before deciding that God wanted him to bring his flock to Beaver Island. Producing mysterious 'gold' plates from the ground (dug up in Racine Wisconsin), and receiving directives from God, Strang formed a colony on Beaver Island in 1848. It grew year by year, and soon had the numbers to elect Strang to the state legislature. Trouble with the 'gentiles' on the island led to the 'War of Whiskey Point', which the Mormons won by firing a canon at the unruly gang gathered at the trading post. By the early 1850s, most of the non-Mormons had left the Island. The ensuing degree of absolute power went to Strang's head, and rumors spread on mainland Michigan about Mormon 'attrocities'. Strang had himself crowned king, and began taking additional wives. Attempts to oust him by legal means failed, and in 1856 he was assassinated by two disgruntled followers. His people were driven off the Island by an unruly mob from Mackinac Island (instigated by speculators eager to grab the land). During their 8-year occupancy, the Mormons cleared and cultivated the ground, built roads and houses, and changed the Island from a wilderness to a small outpost of civilization.
Written Oct 4, 2002
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Favorite thing: St. James Harbor and lighthouse. As a side note, for those unfamiliar with Lake Michigan (or the Great Lakes in general), they are suprisingly big bodies of water. From Beaver Island, for example, you cannot see the mainland (Wisconsin to the west or Michigan to the east).
Updated Oct 4, 2002
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Favorite thing: Beaver Island is a beautiful island, about 13 miles long, located at the north end of Lake Michigan in approximately the middle of the lake. It has quite an interesting history for such an obscure island...
Native Americans are thought to have inhabited Beaver Island as long ago as 2,200 years ago. Later, the Odawa tribe (Ottawas) migrated westward as they retreated from contact with the whites, arriving on Beaver Island in the mid-1700s. Arrowheads, spear heads, and fragments of Woodland-period pottery indicate their presence, and fire-cracked rocks mark their cooking fires along the bluff. Garden Island, which lies 2 miles north, is the site of over 3,000 Indian graves. At times the native Americans in the area were recruited to help in skirmishes between the English and the French. White traders and trappers began to appear in the early 1800s. Trapping, fishing, and cutting wood for the passing steamers allowed men to earn a living at this frontier. By the 1840s, two trading posts were flourishing on the island. In 1850, 100 people lived in a growing community at Whiskey Point, unaware that the few Mormons already present would soon overwhelm them under the leadership of America's only 'King', James Strang, and force them to leave.
Written Oct 4, 2002
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Favorite thing: The small town of St. James is pictured on the left. It is the main town of Beaver Island and lies within a small sheltered bay at the northeastern tip. For sailors and powerboaters it has a fully equipped marina, and it also where the ferry from mainland Michigan arrives. The town has a nice grocery store, toy museum, bar, ice cream stand. Car rentals are also available,which is great for exploring the many dirt roads of the island.
Written Oct 4, 2002
Build your own Beaver Island page
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