Bois Blanc Township, Michigan
| Bois Blanc Township, Michigan | |
|---|---|
| Township | |
 Bois Blanc Township, Michigan
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| Coordinates: 45°45′30″N 84°27′54″W / 45.75833°N 84.46500°WCoordinates: 45°45′30″N 84°27′54″W / 45.75833°N 84.46500°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Michigan |
| County | Mackinac |
| Area | |
| • Total | 49.0 sq mi (126.9 km2) |
| • Land | 35.3 sq mi (91.3 km2) |
| • Water | 13.7 sq mi (35.6 km2) |
| Elevation | 607 ft (185 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| • Total | 71 |
| • Density | 2.0/sq mi (0.8/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| FIPS code | 26-09500 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1625960 |
Bois Blanc Township is a civil township of Mackinac County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, Bois Blanc Township's population was 71. The township is coterminous with Bois Blanc Island. The nearby, smaller and uninhabited Round Island is within the civil jurisdiction of the city of Mackinac Island. Bois Blanc Island's ZIP code is 49775.
"Bois Blanc" is French for "white wood". The name is commonly thought to be a reference to either: (a) the paper birch, or more likely (b) the basswood, called "bois blanc" in other contexts. The basswood's white underbark was extensively used by Native Americans and French-speaking fur traders for cordage, including the sewing up of canoes and the manufacture of webbing for snowshoes.
Bois Blanc was ceded by the local Anishinaabe (Chippewa) to the U.S. federal government with the Treaty of Greenville in 1795. After extensive use as a source of kilned lime and firewood for Mackinac Island and other local frontier settlements, Bois Blanc was settled in the late 1800s as a summer resort community. The Bois Blanc Light lighthouse (1867) survives on the northern shore of the island; it is no longer in service as a lighthouse and is not open to the public.
Pointe Aux Pins is an unincorporated community with a ferry dock within the township on the south side of Bois Blanc Island at 45°43′57″N 84°28′40″W / 45.73250°N 84.47778°W. The plat of this resort community was recorded in 1888 by the Bois Blank Island Land Company, of Jackson. It was given a post office in May 1889. The office closed in October 1889, but reopened in May 1890. It was named for its location in a pine forest area. A summer post office operated from 1911-1914,1920-1922 and 1924. A permanent U.S Post Office is now operating in Pointe Aux Pins. The ZIP code is 49775-9800.
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Wikipedia