The modern history of this land

The modern history of this land. . , 1854 , Edgar Conkling's Business Ventures , Development brings greed and disputes, In 1854 Edgar Conkling, a businessman from Cincinnati, Ohio saw the potential in the land of the northern tip of Michigan's Lower Peninsula and bought thousands of acres. On the map below he purchased all of the land in yellow from the federal government. The green McGulpin plot had been purchased a year earlier by Jacob Wendell, a Mackinac Island land speculator., Edgar platted the village of Mackinaw City, named it, and started several business ventures. His hopes turned on the arrival of railroads. As a sad ironic note, Edgar died one day before the first train arrived in his Mackinaw in 1881. He lost a great deal of money developing his dream town., 1930s , Pierce Dairy , Everyone must out even during a depression., The Pierce family started a dairy in Mackinaw City near where Darrow's restaurant is located. They delivered milk to all of the homes around town. The village government got upset with 60 cows living in the city and finally the Pierces moved out onto this land. You can see their house and large barn as you enter Heritage Village., 1960s , Roger McCormick's Headlands , Historie recreation is the best use of the land with such an interesting history., Roger McCormick, a member of the McCormick family that founded International Harvester Company, was an avid sailor. Frequently he would stop in Mackinaw City for a shower on his trips between Chicago and Mackinac Island. He decided to buy a piece of property and build his own shower hut. That idea grew into the 500-acre parcel called "Headlands.", When Roger died at the early age of 48 his estate gave the property to the Chauncey and Marion Deering McCormick Foundation. With the help of Little Traverse Conservancy several donors provided the money to buy the parcel and give it to Mackinaw City in 1996. The City, being concerned about the cost of upkeep, immediately gave it to Emmet County. In 2004 Emmet County gave this portion back to Mackinaw City for Heritage Village.