Madeline Island is an island of the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

 located in Lake Superior

Lake Superior

Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...

 approximately two miles northeast of Bayfield, Wisconsin

Bayfield, Wisconsin

Bayfield is a city in Bayfield County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 611 at the 2000 census. The town is named after Henry Bayfield, a British Royal Topographic Engineer who explored the region in 1822-23....

, and connected to that town seasonally by a 20 minute ferry ride or an ice road

Ice road

Ice roads are frozen, human-made structures on the surface of bays, rivers, lakes, or seas in the far north. They link dry land, frozen waterways, portages and winter roads, and are usually remade each winter. Ice roads allow temporary transport to areas with no permanent road access...

. It is the largest of the Apostle Islands

Apostle Islands

The Apostle Islands are a group of 22 islands in Lake Superior, off the Bayfield Peninsula in northern Wisconsin. The majority of the islands are located in Ashland County—only Sand, York, Eagle, and Raspberry Islands are located in Bayfield County...

, although it is not included within the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore

Apostle Islands National Lakeshore

The Apostle Islands National Lakeshore is a U.S. national lakeshore consisting of 21 islands and shoreline encompassing 69,372 acres on the northern tip of Wisconsin on the shore of Lake Superior....

. It is the only island in the Apostle Island chain open to commercial development.

The major industry on Madeline Island is summertime tourism. Cars aren’t used often on the island and walking or riding bicycles, which are available to rent, are the encouraged forms of transportation. There are many campsites within the National State Park on the Island, though as demand is high and reservations are required, many of the spots are reserved months in advance. The Island is renowned for its beautiful beaches of Lake Superior, though the water doesn’t warm up much so swimming is a little chilly but it cools you off on hot summer days. There is also a skate park. Kayaks and canoes are also available to rent and provide an opportunity to explore some of the underwater caves and hollows of the cliff faces.

Madeline Island is the traditional spiritual center of the Lake Superior Chippewa

Lake Superior Chippewa

The Lake Superior Chippewa were a historical band of Ojibwe Indians living around Lake Superior in what is now the northern parts of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.-Origins:...

, and was one of the earliest settlements in the area. An Anishinaabe

Anishinaabe

Anishinaabe or Anishinabe—or more properly Anishinaabeg or Anishinabek, which is the plural form of the word—is the autonym often used by the Odawa, Ojibwe, and Algonquin peoples. They all speak closely related Anishinaabemowin/Anishinaabe languages, of the Algonquian language family.The meaning...

 legend says that Great Spirit Gitche Manitou

Gitche Manitou

Gitche Manitou means "Great Spirit" in several Algonquian languages. The term was also utilized to signify God by Christian missionaries, when translating scriptures and prayers, etc...

 told the people to travel west to the place where the "food grows upon the water", which led them to the wild rice

Wild rice

Wild rice is four species of grasses forming the genus Zizania, and the grain which can be harvested from them. The grain was historically gathered and eaten in both North America and China...

 that grew in the marshes in nearby Chequamegon Bay

Chequamegon Bay

Chequamegon Bay is an inlet of Lake Superior, NE-SW and 2- wide, in Ashland and Bayfield counties in the extreme northern part of Wisconsin. It lies largely inside the barrier of Chequamegon Point and Long Island, with the Bad River Indian Reservation to the east. Ashland, Wisconsin is on its...

. Madeline Island was also the home of Chief Buffalo

Chief Buffalo

Chief Buffalo was an Ojibwa leader born at La Pointe in the Apostle Islands group of Lake Superior, in what is now northern Wisconsin, USA...

, who was instrumental in resisting the efforts of the U.S. Government to remove the Chippewa and in securing permanent reservations under the Treaty of La Pointe

Treaty of La Pointe

The Treaty of La Pointe may refer to either of two treaties made and signed in La Pointe, Wisconsin between the United States and the Ojibwe Native American peoples...

 of 1854 that remain today. The bulk of the Ojibway on Madeline Island resettled to the Bad River Reservation east of Ashland, however, Chief Buffalo was granted a tract for his family on the mainland just west of Madeline Island in what is now known as the Red Cliff Indian Reservation. The island was originally called Mooningwanekaaning ("The Home of the Golden Breasted Woodpecker"). The first white settlers were French fur traders, who in 1693 established the fort that eventually became the community of La Pointe

La Pointe (community), Wisconsin

La Pointe is an unincorporated community located in the town of La Pointe, Ashland County, Wisconsin, United States. This community, , is located on the western shore of Madeline Island, the largest of the Apostle Islands...

. In the 19th century La Pointe became the site of an important post of the American Fur Company

American Fur Company

The American Fur Company was founded by John Jacob Astor in 1808. The company grew to monopolize the fur trade in the United States by 1830, and became one of the largest businesses in the country. The company was one the first great trusts in American business...

 under Michel Cadotte

Michel Cadotte

Michel Cadotte 1764-1837 or was a Métis fur trader who dominated business in the area of the south shore of Lake Superior. He gained a strategic alliance through marriage into the Owaazsii clan of the Anishinaabeg...

 whose wife Ikwesewe (Madeline) is the island's namesake. The island's fur trading history has been preserved in the Madeline Island Historical Museum

Madeline Island Historical Museum

Madeline Island Historical Museum is a museum operated by the Wisconsin Historical Society in the town of La Pointe, Wisconsin. As the institution's name suggests, it is located upon Madeline Island, one of the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior...

.

Madeline Island was named after Madeline Cadotte. Madeline Island has been home to Native Americans and fur traders. Madeline Island has been civilized around 400 years. To learn more about the History of Madeline Island you can visit the Madeline Island Historical Preservation Association. There is also many other historical places you may want to visit including the Old Fort Marker, The Indian Burial Grounds, and The Madeline Island Marker.

The unincorporated community of La Pointe, which is the main settlement within the town of La Pointe, is located on the southwestern tip of the island, with Grant’s Point being the southeastern most point. Aside from its proximity to the federally managed National Lakeshore, Madeline Island also contains the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is an agency of the state of Wisconsin. Its purpose is to preserve, protect, manage and maintain the natural resources of the state. The WDNR has the authority to set policy for itself and to recommend regulations for approval by the State Legislature...

's Big Bay State Park

Big Bay State Park

Big Bay State Park is in the U.S. state of Wisconsin on Madeline Island, the largest of 22 Apostle Islands in Lake Superior. The park has picturesque sandstone bluffs and caves and a long sand beach. It encloses unique habitat types including lakeside dunes, sphagnum bogs, and old-growth forest...

, a 2350 acres (9.5 km²) park on the south-central shore of the island. It is sometimes called Eagles' Nest for the bald eagles that make their nests in the tall pine trees on the cliffs. It encloses a large lagoon and a unique bog/dune ecosystem. There is another, smaller park on the island called Big Bay Town Park that is closer to town, offers camping, and is free to the public. It has access to the longest beach on the island, and adjoins the state park. With help from the summer's sun, the surface water temperature in the sheltered bay can rise to 70 °F (21.1 °C) while the water just off shore might remain a frigid 50 degrees.

The island itself is fourteen miles (21 km) long and three miles (5 km) wide. It is the only developed island of all the Apostle islands, although there are lighthouses on many of the islands and small, preserved fishing communities on a few (such as Stockton Island

Stockton Island

Stockton Islands is also a group of islands north of Alaska.Stockton Island is one of the Apostle Islands, in Lake Superior, in northern Wisconsin, and is part of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore....

, Raspberry Island

Raspberry Island (Wisconsin)

Raspberry Island is one of the Apostle Islands in northern Wisconsin, in Lake Superior, and is part of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. The Raspberry Island Light is located on the island....

 and Manitou Island

Manitou Island (Wisconsin)

One of the twenty-two Apostle Islands of northern Wisconsin, Manitou Island has also been known as New Jersey Island and Tait's Island ....

). The 2000 U.S. Census reported the permanent population of the island as two hundred forty-six, which does not include seasonal residents. Madeline island has a school that educates children through 5th grade. Middle and high school-age children attend school in Bayfield.

The Great Lakes include Lake Michigan, Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Superior, and Lake Ontario. Madeline Island is located in Lake Superior, right off the tip of Wisconsin and near Duluth, Minnesota. Twenty percent of the World’s fresh water is contained in the Great Lakes. Lake Superior has the largest volume, and is the deepest out of all the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes were formed from glaciers in the Last Ice age and the valley was formed 2 billion years ago from tectonic plates colliding.

The island is a popular vacation spot for people from all over the Midwest. The golf club sports a course designed by Robert Trent Jones

Robert Trent Jones

Robert Trent Jones, Sr. was a golf course architect who designed about 500 golf courses in at least 40 US states and 35 other countries all around the world...

 that features double greens.

The island can be reached only by ferry during the summer months; in the winter, ice usually becomes too thick for ferry traffic. The last ferry runs of the season are typically in mid- to late January, though in recent years the ferry has run well into February, and in 2006 ran the entire winter. When ice conditions allow, the "ice road" officially opens to vehicle traffic from Bayfield across the frozen surface to Madeline Island. The ice road is traditionally marked by Christmas trees and is officially an extension of County Highway H. If ice is too thin for automobile traffic, but too thick for ferry traffic, access to the island is by airplane, snowmobile and windsled only. The windsled often operates in early winter and spring.

On the eastern end of the island is an exclave of the Bad River Indian Reservation of approximately 195 acre (0.7891377 km²).

Madeline Island offers plenty of sight-seeing, activities, history to learn, and is located in the heart of Lake Superior, one of The Great Lakes. Madeline island has a unique community and is a fun vacation spot. Madeline Island is the largest of the Apostle Islands, and is one of the only ones with commercial development. To learn more about Madeline Island, plan a trip there or visit their website.

See also

• La Pointe, Wisconsin
  La Pointe, Wisconsin
  La Pointe is a town in Ashland County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The town includes all of the Apostle Islands. There is also an unincorporated community named La Pointe on Madeline Island, the largest of the Apostle Islands . The population was 246 at the 2000 census...
  
  
• La Pointe (community), Wisconsin
  La Pointe (community), Wisconsin
  La Pointe is an unincorporated community located in the town of La Pointe, Ashland County, Wisconsin, United States. This community, , is located on the western shore of Madeline Island, the largest of the Apostle Islands...
  
  
• Big Bay State Park
  Big Bay State Park
  Big Bay State Park is in the U.S. state of Wisconsin on Madeline Island, the largest of 22 Apostle Islands in Lake Superior. The park has picturesque sandstone bluffs and caves and a long sand beach. It encloses unique habitat types including lakeside dunes, sphagnum bogs, and old-growth forest...
  
  
• Islands of the Midwest
  Islands of the Midwest
  This is a partial list of islands of the Midwestern United States. -Illinois:*Bardwell Island*Campbell's Island*Chouteau Island*Dillon Island*Gabaret Island*Goose Island...
  
  
• List of islands of the United States
• Islands of the Great Lakes
  Islands of the Great Lakes
  The Great Lakes islands consist of 35,000 islands created by uneven glacial activity in the Great Lakes Basin. The largest of these is Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron in Canada's province of Ontario...
  
  
• French Island
  French Island, Wisconsin
  French Island is a census-designated place in La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 4,207 at the 2010 census. It lies on an island of a similar name, with which it is not coextensive; most of the island is part of the city of La Crosse, but all are part of the La Crosse...
  
   and Washington Island
  Washington Island (Wisconsin)
  Washington Island is located about 7 miles northeast of the tip of Door Peninsula in Door County, Wisconsin. The island has a year-round population of 660 people . It has a land area of 60.89 km² and comprises over 92 percent of the land area of the town of Washington, as well as all of its...
  
  , other populated islands in Wisconsin

External links

• Madeline Island Chamber of Commerce
• Madeline Island from Wisconsin Historical Society
• Madeline Island Ferry Line
• Big Bay State Park