Epoufette, Michigan

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Epoufette, Michigan
Unincorporated community
Signage looking east along U.S. Route 2
Signage looking east along U.S. Route 2
Epoufette is located in Michigan
Epoufette
Epoufette
Location within the state of Michigan
Coordinates: 46°03′20″N 85°10′06″W / 46.05556°N 85.16833°W / 46.05556; -85.16833Coordinates: 46°03′20″N 85°10′06″W / 46.05556°N 85.16833°W / 46.05556; -85.16833
CountryUnited States
StateMichigan
CountyMackinac
TownshipHendricks
Settled1848
Established1881
Elevation
591 ft (180 m)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code(s)
49762 (Naubinway)
Area code(s)906
GNIS feature ID625620[1]

Epoufette (/ɛˈpoʊˈfɛt/ eh-POH-fet) is an unincorporated community in Mackinac County in the U.S. state of Michigan.[1] The community is located along the northern shores of Lake Michigan along U.S. Route 2 within Hendricks Township. As an unincorporated community, Epoufette has no legally defined boundaries or population statistics of its own.

Geography[]

Epoufette Bay

Epoufette is a small community located within Hendricks Township in the state's Upper Peninsula about 30 miles (48.3 km) west of the Mackinac Bridge.[2] Epoufette sits at an elevation of 591 feet (180 m) above sea level.[1]

Epoufette is centered along U.S. Route 2 on the northern shores of Lake Michigan about 27 miles (43.5 km) west of the city of St. Ignace. Other nearby communities include Brevort to the southeast, Trout Lake to the northeast, Garnet to the northwest, and Naubinway and Engadine to the west.

Epoufette no longer contains its own post office and uses the Naubinway 49762 ZIP Code.[3][4] The community is served by Engadine Consolidated Schools, and Epoufette is at the easternmost edge of the district's boundaries.[5]

The Cut River is located just to the east of the community, and the Cut River Bridge along U.S. Route 2 is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[2] Epoufette is located along a small natural harbor named Epoufette Bay.[6] The western portion of the bay is a small cape named Point Epoufette that extends a short distance into Lake Michigan.[7] The western side of Point Epoufette is a much smaller bay named Kenyon Bay.[8] Just off the southern coast of the cape is a small uninhabited island named Epoufette Island.[9][10]

History[]

Epoufette listed on a 1911 county map
Epoufette state historic marker

John R. McLeod was a government surveyor, who founded an Indian village in the area as early as 1848. Early French setters named the area Epoufette, which translated as "a place of rest." The name is believed to derive from Jacques Marquette when he used the harbor as his first resting place when he embarked from St. Ignace on his trip down Lake Michigan almost 200 years earlier.[11][12][13]

The village of Epoufette was later settled in 1859 as a fishing village when Quebec native Amable Goudreau established a commercial fishery. By 1875, the fishing village was thriving and shipping its products across the Great Lakes.[14][15]

Epoufette received its first post office in 1881 when the lumber industry became established in the area. John R. McLeod served as the first postmaster, and he also worked as a fisherman and farmer. The growing community spread along the shores of Lake Michigan. By 1893, the lumber industry began to decline, and the area's population decreased. The only remaining market was McLeod's general store. When the railroad industry began expanding into the Upper Peninsula by the end of the century, Epoufette was bypassed, and the nearest train depot was 11 miles (17.7 km) north in the community of Rexton.[12]

By 1909, Epoufette transitioned into a mercantile and resort community, although some fishing industries remained. By 1915, the population of the community averaged around 75 residents. L.A. Sweet served as the postmaster and a prominent businessman in the area, and he operated a mill and grocery store. In 1918, Epoufette was designated a "summer resort" when new hotels began operating.[12] Early travel to Epoufette was limited to the Peter White Trail, which ran along the shoreline west from St. Ignace. Epoufette contained a stagecoach stop and regular mail service from St. Ignace.[16] Road access remained limited until the creation of M-12 in 1919.[17] In 1926, M-12 was replaced with early segments of the present-day U.S. Route 2.[18]

Eventually, mail service in Epoufette was transferred to Naubinway, although Epoufette contained its own summer post office from 1959–1972.[19] Epoufette was designated as a Michigan State Historic Site on July 23, 1985. A historic marker was erected along Epoufette Bay in 1986 in what is now a scenic overlook along U.S. Route 2.[15] The Epoufette Cemetery is located within the community along U.S. Route 2 and Paguin Creek Road. The cemetery remains active and has its earliest gravesite dating back to 1887.[20]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Epoufette, Michigan
  2. ^ a b Michigan Economic Development Corporation (2021). "St. Ignace Visitors Bureau: Epoufette". Retrieved August 11, 2021.
  3. ^ Google (August 4, 2021). "49762 ZIP Code map" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  4. ^ UnitedStatesZipCodes.org (2021). "ZIP Code 49762: Naubinway". Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  5. ^ Michigan Geographic Framework (15 November 2013). "Mackinac County School Districts" (PDF). Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  6. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Epoufette Bay
  7. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Point Epoufette
  8. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Kenyon Bay
  9. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Epoufette Island
  10. ^ Michigan Department of Natural Resources (11 November 2017). "Epoufette Bay & Kenyon Bay West Great Lakes Marsh and Wooded Dune and Swale Ecological Reference Area (ERA) Plan" (PDF). Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  11. ^ U.P. Engineers & Architects, Inc. (February 2006). "Mackinac County Fact Book: Mackinac County, Michigan" (PDF). p. 6. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  12. ^ a b c Ray, Dodge (1996) [1973]. Michigan Ghost Towns: Of the Upper Peninsula (formerly Michigan Ghost Towns, Vol. III). Alpena, Michigan: Thunder Bay Press Michigan. pp. 194–195. ISBN 0932212646.
  13. ^ Romig, Walter (October 1, 1986) [1973]. Michigan Place Names: The History of the Founding and the Naming of More Than Five Thousand Past and Present Michigan Communities. Great Lakes Books Series (Paperback). Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State University Press. p. 185. ISBN 978-0-8143-1838-6.
  14. ^ The Historical Marker Database (10 September 2019). "Epoufette". Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  15. ^ a b MichMarkers.com (2021). "Epoufette: Registered Site L1255". Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  16. ^ St. Ignace Chamber of Commerce (2021). "Tidbits of History". Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  17. ^ Michigan State Highway Department (July 1, 1919). State of Michigan (Map). Scale not given. Lansing: Michigan State Highway Department. Upper Peninsula sheet. OCLC 15607244. Retrieved December 18, 2016 – via Michigan State University Libraries.
  18. ^ Bureau of Public Roads & American Association of State Highway Officials (November 11, 1926). United States System of Highways Adopted for Uniform Marking by the American Association of State Highway Officials (Map). 1:7,000,000. Washington, DC: U.S. Geological Survey. OCLC 32889555. Retrieved November 7, 2013 – via Wikimedia Commons.
  19. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Epoufette Post Office (historical)
  20. ^ Find a Grave (2021). "Epoufette Cemetery". Find a Grave. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
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