Cheboygan's Beginnings

Cheboygan's Beginnings. The "Welcome". , River mouth and cattail marsh: , Captain Samuel Robertson wrote in the 1770s, "…the most safest place near Michilimackinac [Mackinac Island] for wintering vessels is the River Shaboygan, there is six feet water upon the Barr, the River is about twenty yards wide at the entrance… it is clear level marshy ground for half a mile around at the mouth so that there could be no danger of them being surprised from Indians and there is always good Fishing and shooting, there is plenty of fine pines both sides of the River…" , John Askin (1739-1815) , moved to Northern Michigan in the 1760s. By the 1780s after success as a trader, supplier to the British army, and farmer he moved to Detroit to expand his commercial enterprises. His daughter Catherine married Captain Samuel Robertson who lived at times in the Cheboygan settlement. , The "Welcome" , was constructed in the Straits of Mackinac by John Askin in 1774. Askin used it to transport trade goods through much of the Great Lakes region. It was later purchased by the British military and converted to an armed sloop during the American Revolutionary War. , Pompeii , was an African slave and travelled with John Askin. Pompeii manned Askin's boats as they made trading stops in harbors such as the Cheboygan River. , In 1976, Cheboygan community members created a mural depicting the history of Cheboygan and installed it on Main Street as part of America's Bicentennial celebration. In 1996 the mural was moved to Locust Street and recreated by artist Molly Jo Nolan. In 2015, muralist Terry Dickinson, working with the community of Cheboygan, recreated the mural again in its new location here in Washington Park. , Working directly with Margaret Lentini who designed the original mural from historical information provided by historian Ellis Olson, Terry used photos and even some of Margaret's original sketches to create a new composition telling the story of the beginnings of Cheboygan.