Drummond Township, Michigan

Coordinates: 46°00′00″N 83°40′00″W / 46.00000°N 83.66667°W / 46.00000; -83.66667
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Drummond Township, Michigan
Drummond Island
View of Big Shoal Cove, near the southeastern end of Drummond Island
View of Big Shoal Cove, near the southeastern end of Drummond Island
Location within Chippewa County
Location within Chippewa County
Drummond Township is located in Michigan
Drummond Township
Drummond Township
Location within the state of Michigan
Coordinates: 46°00′00″N 83°40′00″W / 46.00000°N 83.66667°W / 46.00000; -83.66667
CountryUnited States
StateMichigan
CountyChippewa
Government
 • SupervisorChad Cameron
Area
 • Total249.0 sq mi (644.9 km2)
 • Land128.9 sq mi (333.9 km2)
 • Water120.1 sq mi (311.0 km2)
Elevation
741 ft (247 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total973
 • Density8/sq mi (3.2/km2)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code(s)
49726 (Drummond Island)
Area code906
FIPS code26-23080[1]
GNIS feature ID1626193[2]

Drummond Township (/ˈdrʌmənd/ DRUH-mənd), which comprises Drummond Island, is a civil township of Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 973 at the 2020 census.

Drummond Island is the seventh-largest lake island in the world. With an area of 347 km2 (134 sq mi), it is also the third-largest lake island in Lake Huron, behind Manitoulin and St. Joseph, and the fifth-largest island in the contiguous United States, behind Long Island, Padre Island, Isle Royale and Whidbey Island.[3] M-134 extends from the mainland to run through the western portion of the island, connecting with the mainland via the Drummond Island Ferry, which runs between the island and DeTour Village.

On the east side of Drummond Island, the Canada–United States border passes through the False Detour Channel. On the other side of that channel, the Canadian Cockburn Island separates Drummond from Manitoulin Island.

History

The township and island are named after Gordon Drummond, the first Canadian-born officer to command the military and the civil government of British Canada. As Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, Drummond distinguished himself on the Niagara front in the War of 1812 and later became Governor-General and Administrator of Canada.[4] The Ojibwe name for the island is Bootaagan-minising (syncope as Bootaagan-mnising[5] recorded as "Potagannissing"),[6] meaning "at the Mill Island".[5]

The history of Drummond Island dates back centuries, but more recent history of the past 200 years relates to the British occupation of the island during and after the War of 1812. The island was the last British outpost on American soil following the Treaty of Ghent (1814). On October 6, 1828, orders were sent out from Quebec that the post would be handed over, and the island was officially occupied by United States on November 14, 1828.[7] Drummond Island is the only island in the Manitoulin Island chain which is part of the United States. Drummond Island was originally recorded by Americans as First Manitoulin Island and Drummond's Island.[3]

Border on the Great Lakes

St. Joseph, Drummond and Cockburn islands and the placement of the international boundary agreed to in 1822 and 1842

British and American negotiators to the 1814 Treaty of Ghent ended the War of 1812 by offering no territorial concessions to either side, but returned to those boundaries set by the Treaty of Paris of 1783. To resolve territorial claims that had precipitated the war, negotiators at Ghent established a process whereby commissioners would survey the boundary to determine the borders envisioned in the original treaty.

Beginning in August 1820, two teams of surveyors, including British explorer and cartographer David Thompson, mapped the area of St. Joseph Island, Drummond Island, and Lesser and Greater Manitou Islands (today Cockburn and Manitoulin islands). Mapping this corner of Lake Huron was a challenge given that little was known about the shores and depths of the channels between the islands. The agent for the United States survey team, Major Joseph Delafield, complained, "No map that I have seen has any truth as it respects the position of Drummond's or the other islands about St. Marys. We entered this bay without a pilot, but are told we cannot proceed up river without one."[8]

Based on the surveys taken in the summers of 1820 and 1821, and guided by the commission's two principles that the boundary would not divide islands and that the number of islands would be apportioned equally between the two countries,[8] in November and December 1821, commissioners agreed to grant St. Joseph Island and Cockburn Island to Canada and Drummond Island, which lies between them, to the United States.[8]

Geography

A Quarry on Drummond Island in 1893.

According to the US Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 249.0 square miles (644.9 km2), of which 128.9 square miles (333.9 km2) is land and 120.1 square miles (311.0 km2), or 48.23%, is water.[9] The island is dominated by forest, with cliffs on the eastern side, which are part of the Niagara Escarpment.

Most of the island, approximately 23, is state land owned by the state of Michigan.[10] The island hosts a rare environment known as alvar, a grassy limestone plain found only in a few places worldwide.[11]

Drummond Township is one of only seven municipalities in the state of Michigan to consist entirely of islands, including Grosse Ile Township, St. James Township, Bois Blanc Township, Mackinac Island, Peaine Township, and Sugar Island Township.

Major highway

Climate

Drummond Island
Climate chart (explanation)
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
 
 
72
 
 
−9
−14
 
 
55
 
 
−11
−16
 
 
48
 
 
−4
−10
 
 
114
 
 
4
−5
 
 
84
 
 
11
3
 
 
79
 
 
16
9
 
 
107
 
 
19
15
 
 
96
 
 
22
17
 
 
103
 
 
18
14
 
 
127
 
 
10
3
 
 
83
 
 
6
0
 
 
66
 
 
2
−4
Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
Precipitation totals in mm
Source: [12]
Imperial conversion
JFMAMJJASOND
 
 
2.8
 
 
16
7
 
 
2.2
 
 
12
3
 
 
1.9
 
 
25
14
 
 
4.5
 
 
39
23
 
 
3.3
 
 
52
37
 
 
3.1
 
 
61
48
 
 
4.2
 
 
66
59
 
 
3.8
 
 
72
63
 
 
4.1
 
 
64
57
 
 
5
 
 
50
37
 
 
3.3
 
 
43
32
 
 
2.6
 
 
36
25
Average max. and min. temperatures in °F
Precipitation totals in inches

Communities

Demographics

In 2020, the township had a population of 973.

See also

References

  1. ^ "U.S. Census website". US Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  2. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Drummond Township, Michigan
  3. ^ a b "Drummond, Island". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  4. ^ "Drummond Island, Michigan". Retrieved October 5, 2012.
  5. ^ a b Freelang Ojibwe Dictionary
  6. ^ Bamford, Don; Paul Carroll (2009). Four Years on the Great Lakes, 1813-1816: The Journal of Lieutenant David Wingfield, Royal Navy. Natural Heritage Books - The Dundurn Group. p. 259. ISBN 978-1-55488-393-6. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
  7. ^ "Michigan History: The first residents of Drummond Island". July 3, 2008. Retrieved October 5, 2012.
  8. ^ a b c Carroll, Francis M. (Fall 2004). "The Search for the Canadian-American boundary along the Michigan frontier, 1819-1827: The Boundary Commissions under Articles Six and Seven of the Treaty of Ghent". Michigan Historical Review. 30 (2): 77–104. doi:10.2307/20174082. JSTOR 20174082.
  9. ^ "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Drummond Island township, Chippewa County MI". US Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  10. ^ Michigan Department of Natural Resources (April 18, 2016). Drummond Island (PDF) (Map). [c. 1:202,752]. Lansing: Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
  11. ^ Bailey, Betty (n.d.). "Alvar". Drummond Island Tourism Association. Archived from the original on November 19, 2016.
  12. ^ "NASA Earth Observations Data Set Index". NASA. Archived from the original on August 6, 2013. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
  13. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Drummond, Michigan

External links