Michigan’s First Mail System Was Run by One Man on Mackinac Island

The need for a postal service in the US has existed since before the U.S. declared its independence, with Benjamin Franklin serving as the first Postmaster General in 1775. With the passage of the Post Office Act of 1792, it became a permanent part of the government. So, as the United States spread across North America, new post offices sprang up to serve more regions.

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When it came to Michigan, the first official post office was created in Detroit on September 7, 1802. However, that wasn't the first mail service in the state. No, it was a far more peculiar setup that delivered mail to Northern Michigan, and all the people up there relied on a single man to get their mail to and fro.

Mackinac Island: The Hub Of Mail?

We know Mackinac Island today as one of the United States' most popular vacation destinations, known for its natural beauty and unique charm. But for many in the early days, Mackinac Island was instead a person's only link to the rest of the world. The story goes that before 1851, the only way anyone in the northern region of Michigan could get and receive their mail a few times a year from one man.

Residents relied on a trader by the name of Lewis Miller, who had a settlement on Mackinac Island. Anyone who lived in the area and wanted their mail delivered/receive mail was responsible for trekking to the island to give Miller their mail.

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Miller would then bring the mail with him when he would head south to "replenish his stock." The island received its first post office, the Michilmackinac, on April 14, 1819, with Adam D. Stewart serving as the first postmaster.

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He served as an unofficial postman until the Grand Traverse Post Office was approved in 1851. For reference, Michigan became an official state in 1837.

How Mackinac Island Gets Its Mail Today

Nowadays, people up north don't rely on Mackinac Island to get their mail; rather, people on Mackinac rely on people on the mainland to get their mail. All mail is brought to the Mackinac Island Post Office and has to be manually picked up.

Packages, however, are delivered in a very Mackinac Island way: by horse-drawn carriage. So that weird Amazon purchase you made in the middle of the night will be delivered...eventually. Two-day shipping may be a bit difficult, however. Mail on the island has a curious and complicated history