Neebish Island
Encyclopedia
Neebish Island is an island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...

 in 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 Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

 in the St. Marys River
St. Marys River (Michigan-Ontario)
The St. Marys River , sometimes written as the St. Mary's River, drains Lake Superior, starting at the end of Whitefish Bay and flowing 74.5 miles southeast into Lake Huron, with a fall of ....

 between the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and the Canadian province of Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

. It is divided into two parts known as "Big Neebish" and "Little Neebish" which are divided by a river which is sometimes more mud than river and is known as 'the dark hole' or 'the black hole' by Neebish Islanders. Big Neebish is home to Neebish Island resort, and Little Neebish is host to family cottages, many of which have belonged to the same families for generations. There was once a small general store and resort, known as the Little Neebish Resort on Little Neebish, but it burned down in the nineties. Plans to rebuild have been underway for over a decade and appear to be drawing to a close. Since then Neebish Island Resort and Campground has put up a store and run it seasonally for all of the islanders.

Description

The island lies south of Sugar Island
Sugar Island (Michigan)
Sugar Island is an island in the U.S. state of Michigan in the St. Marys River between the United States and the Canadian province of Ontario. The entire island constitutes Sugar Island Township in Chippewa County at the eastern tip of the Upper Peninsula...

 and is to the east of the unincorporated community of Barbeau, Michigan on the mainland. It forms the southeastern part of Soo Township
Soo Township, Michigan
Soo Township is a civil township of Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,652 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water...

 in Chippewa County, Michigan
Chippewa County, Michigan
-National protected areas:* Harbor Island National Wildlife Refuge* Hiawatha National Forest * Whitefish Point Unit of the Seney National Wildlife Refuge-Demographics:...

.

The name Neebish comes from an Indian word for "where the water boils," referring to the once-furious rapids along its western side. However, the rapid
Rapid
A rapid is a section of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. A rapid is a hydrological feature between a run and a cascade. A rapid is characterised by the river becoming shallower and having some rocks exposed above the...

s were greatly diminished when a shipping channel was dug for lake freighter
Lake freighter
Lake freighters, or Lakers, are bulk carrier vessels that ply the Great Lakes. The best known was the , the most recent and largest major vessel to be wrecked on the Lakes. These vessels are traditionally called boats, although classified as ships. In the mid-20th century, 300 lakers worked the...

s using the Soo Locks
Soo Locks
The Soo Locks are a set of parallel locks which enable ships to travel between Lake Superior and the lower Great Lakes. They are located on the St. Marys River between Lake Superior and Lake Huron, between the Upper Peninsula of the US state of Michigan and the Canadian province of Ontario...

 to the north. Freighters heading up to the locks pass on the east side of the island. Freighters that are downbound from the locks pass on the island's west side.

While only 4 of its 21.5 square miles (55.7 km²) are state owned, the island is mostly undeveloped. There is one store and one church on the island. According to the 2000 census
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...

there were 66 people living on the island.

A car ferry service operates April 1 to January 15.

Neebish Island was the birthplace and childhood home of the late painter, Pat Norton whose work depicts the St. Mary's River, freighters that travel the river and other scenes of Neebish Island and surrounding areas. She was born in 1931 on Neebish Island to a lighthouse keeper.

"Guiding The Way From Middle Neebish" - Book about the Middle Neebish Lighthouse,
Author Edward T. Cook - Bookstand Publishing(February 2007) Note: Author is the nephew of the late painter, Pat Norton. Author's Grandfather Hugh Cook was one of the Lighthouse Keeper's at Middle Neebish Lighthouse.

Pine River Camp

Just across from Barbeau, Clifford Borbas opened a "canoe camp" on Neebish Island. The rustic camp was physically little more than a collection of crude cabins. The dining hall was a pavilion with log poles and a dirt floor next to a camp fire where the meals were provided. However for the better part of 30 years children came from all over the United States to engage in a unique camping experience. Pine River Camp closed in 1993.
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