Entry from Lake Michigan to Beaver Island Harbor
Beaver Island Post Office
'King' Strang's story - long live the king!
We're staying put for an extra day on Beaver Island, not because of the weather, but we like it here. Beaver Island has a unique flavor and history. In the 1850's the island was inhabited mainly by Mormans, and ruled by James Strang who was crowned king and ruled with an iron fist. He was assinated by two of his followers by July 1856. Shortly afterwards mobs from other islands ran off all 2600 Mormans. After that the island's population was made up of mostly Irish who made a living off fishing and logging. In the late 1800's Beaver Island was the largest supplier of fresh water fish in the US. Today it has a permanent population of some 500 people. Tourism is the main industry, though a sizable Indian population still tries to make a living fishing. We were unable to get the fish dinner on the Island we were looking forward to. The fishermen did not go out because of the rough weather the last few days - and they used to call them braves?
No comments:
Post a Comment