Naubinway, Michigan

File:Northern_Lake_Michigan.jpg

The first European traveler to settle in the area was William Boucha (or Boucher), who partook in the fur trade from Mackinac Island and moved west in 1843. He and his family built their home near Millecoquins Point. They stayed in the area until around 1857. Later in 1873, Boucha received a federal deed under President Ulysses S. Grant to occupy {{convert|27.3|acres|ha|1}} of land at a very inexpensive cost. The new community was settled as "Bouchaville" but soon renamed as Naubinway. The name Naubinway came from the Ojibwe language (Anishinaabemowen) word “Inaabinawe”{{cite web |last=Mayotte (Giizhibaa’aanakwad) |first=Patrick |author-link= |date=2007 |title=Gidakiiminaan (Our Earth): An Anishinaabe atlas of the 1836 (Upper Michigan), 1937, and 1842 treaty ceded territories |url=https://glifwc.org/publications/pdf/Atlas.pdf |accessdate=July 15, 2023 |work=Gidakiiminaan Atlas (map page 22) |via=GLIFWC (Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission)}}{{Cite web |last=Chiriboga |first=Esteban |date=2007 |title=GIDAKIIMINAAN (Our Earth): Ojibwe Geographic Place Names in the 1837 Ceded Territories of Minnesota and Wisconsin, the 1842 Ceded Territories of Wisconsin and Michigan and the 1836 Ceded Territory of the Michigan Upper Peninsula |url=https://glifwc.org/Environmental/Language_Poster.pdf |access-date=July 15, 2023 |website=Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC)}}(root “inaabi”{{cite web |last=Nichols |first=John D |author-link= |date=2012–2021 |title=inaabi (vai) |url=https://ojibwe.lib.umn.edu/main-entry/inaabi-vai |accessdate=July 14, 2023 |work=The Ojibwe People’s Dictionary |via=Department of American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota}}): “sits and keeps watch for something”{{cite web |last=Mayotte (Giizhibaa’aanakwad) |first=Patrick |author-link= |date=2007 |title=Gidakiiminaan (Our Earth): An Anishinaabe atlas of the 1836 (Upper Michigan), 1937, and 1842 treaty ceded territories |url=https://glifwc.org/publications/pdf/Atlas.pdf |accessdate=July 15, 2023 |work=Gidakiiminaan Atlas, page 42 |via=GLIFWC (Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission)}} or “to look or gaze in wonderment”{{cite web |last= |author-link= |date= |title=Naubinway (English, Etymology) |url=https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/Naubinway |accessdate=July 14, 2023 |work=Wiktionary, the free dictionary}} although local tourist sites often translate the meaning as "place of echoes".

A post office was first established in Naubinway on November 28, 1879, with Benjamin Perkins serving as the first postmaster.{{cite book |first1=Walter |last1=Romig |title=Michigan Place Names: The History of the Founding and the Naming of More Than Five Thousand Past and Present Michigan Communities |type=Paperback |orig-date= 1973 |date=October 1, 1986 |publisher=Wayne State University Press |isbn = 978-0-8143-1838-6 |location=Detroit, Michigan| page=389}} The post office has continuously remained in operation and is currently located at West 11631 US Highway 2 in the center of the community.{{GNIS|2359907|Naubinway Post Office}} The Naubinway Cemetery (also referred to as the Garfield Township Cemetery) is located just north of the community.{{GNIS|633235|Naubinway Cemetery}} The active cemetery contains graves dating back to 1881.

Naubinway began as a lumbering community at the beginning of the lumber boom in the Upper Peninsula by 1880. The history of the nearby community of Engadine had a similar origin, and the two communities grew rapidly and became centers of large lumbering companies. The population of Naubinway and the surrounding area was estimated as high as 10,000 residents during the decade. The Canadian Pacific Railway built a line through the area in 1889. The railway line passed to the north of Naubinway through Engadine, and both communities benefited greatly from the railroad and the exportation of its lumber. Naubinway also benefited from being a port community on Lake Michigan. In addition to the growing lumber industry, the community also had a large commercial fishing industry. When the lumber industry declined after the turn of the century, the fishing industry continued.

The community received a railroad depot just to the north of the community. The depot was referred to as the Naubinway Junction, although its exact location and dates of operation are unknown.{{cite book |last= United States Lake Survey |date= 1911|title= Michigan, Southern Peninsula: Michigan, Northern Peninsula|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=sa3hAAAAMAAJ&dq=Naubinway+Junction&pg=PA39|location= Michigan|publisher= Rand McNally & Company |page= 39|isbn=}}{{cite web|last=MichiganRailroads.com|url=http://michiganrailroads.com/stations-locations/113-mackinac-county-49/199-mackinac-county-stations-other|title=Mackinac County Stations - Other|date=2021|accessdate=July 4, 2021}} The line was served by the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad and connected many of the Upper Peninsula's lumber communities. The railway line remains active and is operated by the Canadian National Railway but no longer contains a stop or railway station within Naubinway.{{cite web |last=Michigan Department of Transportation |author-link=Michigan Department of Transportation |url=https://www.michigan.gov/documents/mdot/MI_Rail_Map_553909_7.pdf |title=Michigan's Railroad System: Railroads Operating in Michigan |date=March 2017 |accessdate=July 4, 2021}} Beginning in the 1940s, U.S. Route 2 was constructed and rerouted to pass directly through the community of Naubinway along Lake Michigan. U.S. Route 2 provided a major transportation route through the area.{{cite MDOT map |date=1942-06-01 |sections=C1, D10}}

As Naubinway is at the northernmost stretches of Lake Michigan, the point was designated as a Michigan State Historic Site named "the Northernmost Point of Lake Michigan" on April 14, 1964. This point was used to draw the westernmost boundary of the Michigan Territory when it was created in 1805. West of this point belonged to the Indiana Territory until the Michigan Territory expanded westward in 1818.{{cite web|last=The Historical Marker Database|url=https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=139339|title=The Northernmost Point of Lake Michigan|date=1 February 2021|accessdate=July 7, 2021}}

In recent years, due to the community's remoteness and lack of amenities, the area's population has steadily declined. The community is supported primarily by commercial fishing and tourism.{{cite news |last = Donnelly |first = Francis |url = https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2017/05/17/population/101774148/ |title = As U.P. loses people, towns make tough choices |date = 17 May 2017 |work = The Detroit News |access-date = August 22, 2019 }} For the 2020 census, Naubinway was included as a newly-listed census-designated place, which is included for statistical purposes only. Naubinway continues to remain an unincorporated community with no legal autonomy of its own.{{cite web| last= U.S. Census Bureau|url=https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/tigerwebmain/Files/tab20/tigerweb_tab20_cdp_mi.html|title=State of Michigan Census Designated Places|date=2020|accessdate=July 9, 2021}}{{GNIS|2806342|Naubinway Census Designated Place}}

File:Naubinway, MI road signage.jpg]]

File:Naubinway, MI post office.jpg

Naubinway is located along the northernmost shores of Lake Michigan within Garfield Township in the state's Upper Peninsula. The community is centered along U.S. Route 2 (Lake Michigan Scenic Highway) about {{convert|41|mi|km}} west of St. Ignace and {{convert|45|mi|km}} east of Manistique. Hiawatha Trail (County Highway 40) is located just north of the center of Naubinway, and M-117 is to the west. Portions of the surrounding area are part of Lake Superior State Forest.{{cite web|last=U.P. Engineers & Architects, Inc.|url=https://www.mackinaccounty.net/wp-content/media/mackinac-county-fact-book.pdf|title=Mackinac County Fact Book: Mackinac County, Michigan|date=2006|accessdate=July 8, 2021}} The community sits at an elevation of {{convert|932|ft|m}} above sea level.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Naubinway CDP has a total area of {{convert|0.47|sqmi|2}}, of which {{convert|0.06|sqmi|2}}, or 12.34%, are water. U.S. Route 2 forms the northern edge of the community.

Smaller communities nearby include Engadine and Millecoquins to the northwest, Gould City to the west, Garnet to the northeast, and Epoufette to the east. Waterways near Naubinway include the Lower Millecoquins River a mile to the west and the east and west branches of Mile Creek the same distance to the east, which all drain into Lake Michigan.{{GNIS|631179|Lower Millecoquins River}}{{GNIS|625232|East Mile Creek}}{{GNIS|1616150|West Mile Creek}} The southernmost point of land in the community is called Millecoquins Point.{{GNIS|632355|Millecoquins Point}} This cape creates a small natural harbor known as Naubinway Harbor, which contains a park and marina called the Naubinway–Garfield Township Marina.{{cite web|last= Michigan Great Lakes Water Trails|url=https://www.michiganwatertrails.org/location.asp?ait=av&aid=1055|title=Naubinway Harbor|date=2021|accessdate=July 4, 2021}}{{cite web|last=Michigan Department of Natural Resources|url=https://www2.dnr.state.mi.us/publications/pdfs/harbor_guide/naubinway.htm|title=Naubinway - Garfield Township Marina|date=2021|accessdate=July 6, 2021}} The Michigan Department of Natural Resources maintains a public boating access site in Naubinway on Lake Michigan.{{cite web|last=Michigan Department of Natural Resources|url=https://www.mcgi.state.mi.us/mrbis/BASDetail.aspx?basid=A-49-025|title=Michigan Recreational Boating Information System (MRBIS): Boating Access Site Detail (Naubinway Marina)|date=2021|accessdate=July 7, 2021}}

Naubinway and the surrounding area is served by Engadine Consolidated Schools.{{cite web|last=Michigan Geographic Framework|url=http://www.mcgi.state.mi.us/mgdl/pdfmaps/CountySchools/SD_BYCO_esize_MACKINAC%20COUNTY.pdf|title=Mackinac County School Districts|date=15 November 2013|accessdate=July 4, 2021}} Naubinway contains its own post office that uses the 49762 ZIP Code. The post office serves the southern portion of Garfield Township and a much larger area to the east of Naubinway, including most of Hudson Township, all of Hendricks Township, and a small western portion of Moran Township. The Garlyn Zoo, located to the east in Hudson Township, also uses the Naubinway ZIP Code.

Naubinway Island is a small island located about {{convert|0.63|mi|km|2}} south of the community in Lake Michigan.{{GNIS|633236|Naubinway Island}} The Naubinway Island Light was first constructed in 1931 on the island. The original structure has been replaced with a cylindrical tower and continues as an active lighthouse.{{GNIS|1623076|Naubinway Island Light}}{{cite web|last=Exploring The North|url=https://www.exploringthenorth.com/lights/lights.html|title=Upper Peninsula Lighthouses Open to the Public on Lake Michigan and Lake Superior|date=2021|accessdate=July 5, 2021}}{{cite web|last=Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society|url=http://wlol.arlhs.com/lighthouse/USA1083.html|title=Naubinway Island (Lake Michigan) Light|date=2021|accessdate=July 9, 2021}} The lighthouse was necessary to alert vessels of the shallow underwater Naubinway Reef, which can pose a hazard for vessels heading in and out of Naubinway Harbor. The rocky reef is located about {{convert|1.4|mi|km|1}} south of the island and creates very shallow waters of only {{convert|4|ft|m|1}} deep.{{cite book |last= United States Lake Survey |date= 1968|title= The U.S. Lake Survey Story|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=X4jHGvZf1gcC&dq=Naubinway+Reef&pg=PA518|location= |publisher= New York Public Library |page= 518|isbn=}}{{GNIS|633237|Naubinway Reef}}

At the 2020 census, the population of the CDP of Naubinway was 147.{{US Census population

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|2020= 147

|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census{{cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/prod/www/decennial.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|accessdate=June 4, 2016}}

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{{Reflist}}

• [http://genealogytrails.com/mich/mackinac/citynaubinway.html Historic photos of Naubinway]
• [https://topofthelake.org/area-history/ Top of the Lake Communities Association history]

{{Mackinac County, Michigan}}

Category:Census-designated places in Michigan

Category:Census-designated places in Mackinac County, Michigan

Category:Unincorporated communities in Mackinac County, Michigan

Category:Unincorporated communities in Michigan

Category:Populated places established in 1873

Category:1873 establishments in Michigan

Category:Michigan populated places on Lake Michigan