Mackinac Island, Michigan

Mackinac Island, Michigan
City of Mackinac Island
From left to right, top to bottom: Downtown Mackinac Island along M-185; Arch Rock; the famous Grand Hotel porch; Fort Mackinac; downtown Mackinac Island with the Mackinac Bridge in the background.
Location within Mackinac County
Mackinac Island
Location within the state of Michigan
Mackinac Island
Location within the United States
Coordinates: 45°52′50″N 84°37′23″W / 45.88056°N 84.62306°W / 45.88056; -84.62306
CountryUnited States
StateMichigan
CountyMackinac
Settled1671 (1671)
EstablishedFebruary 2, 1817 (1817-02-02) (borough)
IncorporatedMarch 25, 1847 (1847-03-25) (village)
March 20, 1900 (1900-03-20) (city)
Government
  TypeMayor–council
  MayorMargaret M. Doud
Area
  Total
18.84 sq mi (48.80 km2)
  Land4.35 sq mi (11.27 km2)
  Water14.49 sq mi (37.53 km2)  76.91%
Elevation
787 ft (240 m)
Population
 (2020)
  Total
583
  Density134.02/sq mi (51.75/km2)
Time zoneUTC-5 (EST)
  Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code(s)
49757
Area code906
FIPS code26-50280
GNIS feature ID1626654
WebsiteOfficial website

Mackinac Island (/ˈmækənɔː/ MAK-ə-naw, locally /ˈmækənə/ MAK-ə-nə) is a city in Mackinac County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 583.

Established as an important fur trading center in the eighteenth century, with a predominately French-speaking population of French Canadians and Métis, after the War of 1812 the city gained more Anglo-American residents. The US put restrictions on Canadians for fur trading. From 1818 until 1882, the city served as the county seat of the former Michilimackinac County, which was later organized as Mackinac County, with St. Ignace designated as the county seat. The city includes all of Mackinac Island and also nearby Round Island which is unpopulated, federally owned and part of the Hiawatha National Forest. The state park and the national forest make up most of the city.

A unique local ordinance passed in 1895 prohibits the use of any motor vehicles on the island. The only exceptions to this are city emergency vehicles (ambulance, police cars and fire trucks), city service vehicles and snowmobiles in the winter. Today the most common means of travel is by foot, bicycle, horse or horse-drawn carriage. Roller skates and roller blades are also allowed, except in the downtown area. Mackinac Island is home to the Grand Hotel, built during the late nineteenth century when the island started to be a summer destination. When the 1980 movie Somewhere in Time was filmed here, the city made an exception to allow the production company to use motorized vehicles on the island.