Cheboygan

History

Cheboygan was originally an Ojibwe settlement. In 1844, Jacob Sammons, a cooper from Fort Mackinac, chose the old native camping ground, known as Shabwegan, as the site for his cabin. He recruited other settlers, and a post office named "Duncan" was established in 1846. It was made the county seat in 1853. Duncan or Duncan City was given a post office in 1850 as a result of the building of sawmills in this area. Duncan was made the county seat in 1853 and the location of the federal land office in 1855. The county seat shifted to Cheboygan in about 1870. Later Duncan was included within the expanded boundaries of Cheboygan. Rail maps in 1876 show planned rail service for Cheboygan, but due to various setbacks, rail did not arrive there until 1881. There was a theater built in town in 1877. Cheboygan was incorporated as a city in 1889. In 1944, Cheboygan became the home port of the former U.S. Coast Guard cutter and icebreaker , serving from 1944 to 2006. Beginning in 2006, the port continued this role as the home dock of the new , a successor cutter. The name of the city shares the name of the county and probably has its origin from the Cheboygan River, although the precise meaning is no longer known. It may have come from an Ojibwe word zhaabonigan meaning "sewing needle". Alternatively, the origin may have been "Chabwegan," meaning "a place of ore."

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. The climate is described as Humid Continental by the Köppen Climate System, abbreviated as Dfb

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,927
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  1,748
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,613
• Ring-billed Gull

  Larus delawarensis Ord, 1815 · Aves
  1,601
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,490
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,301
• Common Grackle

  Quiscalus quiscula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,185
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  1,156

Largest nearby schools

• Cheboygan Area High School
  High · CHEBOYGAN · 609 students · 16.9:1 ratio
• East Elementary School
  Elementary · CHEBOYGAN · 321 students · 16.1:1 ratio
• Cheboygan Intermediate School
  Elementary · CHEBOYGAN · 308 students · 15.4:1 ratio
• Cheboygan Middle School
  Other · CHEBOYGAN · 188 students · 15.7:1 ratio
• Inverness Academy
  High · Cheboygan · 79 students · 15.8:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.7 — 2016-06-28
  8 km ESE of De Tour Village, Michigan
• M 2.5 — 2015-02-16
  5 km WNW of Alpena, Michigan