Petoskey, Michigan facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Petoskey
|
|
|---|---|
| City of Petoskey | |
|
Downtown Petoskey
Little Traverse Bay at sunset
Crooked Tree Arts Center
The Bear River
McLaren Northern Michigan Hospital
|
|
Location within Emmet County
|
|
 Petoskey
Location in Michigan
|
|
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Michigan |
| County | Emmet |
| Incorporated | 1879 (village) 1895 (city) |
| Named for | Petosegay |
| Government | |
| • Type | Mayor–council |
| Area | |
| • Total | 5.33 sq mi (13.82 km2) |
| • Land | 5.15 sq mi (13.33 km2) |
| • Water | 0.19 sq mi (0.49 km2) |
| Elevation | 669 ft (202 m) |
| Population
(2020)
|
|
| • Total | 5,877 |
| • Density | 1,141.83/sq mi (440.88/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| ZIP code |
49770
|
| Area code(s) | 231 |
| FIPS code | 26-63820 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0634731 |
Petoskey (pronounced pə-TOSS-kee) is a city in Emmet County, Michigan. It is the largest city and the main county seat. In 2020, Petoskey had a population of 5,877 people. This was a small increase from 5,670 people in 2010.
Petoskey is located in Northern Michigan. It is one of the northernmost cities in Michigan's Lower Peninsula. The city sits on the southern shore of Little Traverse Bay. This bay is part of Lake Michigan. Petoskey is a popular place for tourists to visit. It is known as a resort town in the Midwest.
The city also gives its name to the Petoskey stone. This stone is a fossilized coral. It is the official state stone of Michigan.
Contents
History of Petoskey
Early Inhabitants
The area around Little Traverse Bay was home to indigenous peoples for a long time. One of these groups was the Odawa people. The name Petoskey is said to mean "where the light shines through the clouds" in the Odawa language.
After a special agreement called the Treaty of Washington in 1836, an Odawa Chief named Ignatius Petosega bought land near the Bear River. Chief Petosega's father was Antoine Carre, a French Canadian fur trader. His mother was Odawa.
First Missions and Businesses
By the 1850s, different religious groups started missions near Little Traverse Bay. A Presbyterian missionary named Andrew Porter came to the village of Bear River in 1852. This was the original name for Petoskey.
Amos Fox and Hirem Obed Rose were early business owners. They had made money in the California Gold Rush. They also sold lumber and goods to ships in Northport. In the 1850s, Fox and Rose expanded their businesses. They came to Petoskey and Charlevoix.
H.O. Rose later moved to Petoskey. In 1873, he built the first dock in the town. He also bought land when the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad was coming to the area. Rose helped build the first general store. He also started lime quarries and lumber businesses. He was the first president of the village.
Passenger Pigeons and Petoskey Stones
.jpg)
In the late 1800s, Petoskey was a place where many passenger pigeons lived. Sadly, these birds were hunted in huge numbers. This led to their complete extinction in the early 1900s. A historical marker in Michigan remembers these events. It mentions the last big nesting of passenger pigeons in 1878.
Petoskey is famous for its many ancient fossil corals. These are now called Petoskey stones. They are the official state stone of Michigan.
The Little Traverse Bay Band is a recognized tribe. Their main office is in nearby Harbor Springs, Michigan. They also own a gaming casino in Petoskey.
Geography
Petoskey is in Northern Michigan. It is on the southeast shore of the Little Traverse Bay. This bay is part of Lake Michigan. The Bear River flows into the bay here.
The city covers about 5.29 square miles (13.70 square kilometers). Most of this area is land. A small part is water.
Population Information
| Historical population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1880 | 1,815 | — | |
| 1890 | 2,872 | 58.2% | |
| 1900 | 5,285 | 84.0% | |
| 1910 | 4,778 | −9.6% | |
| 1920 | 5,064 | 6.0% | |
| 1930 | 5,740 | 13.3% | |
| 1940 | 6,019 | 4.9% | |
| 1950 | 6,468 | 7.5% | |
| 1960 | 6,138 | −5.1% | |
| 1970 | 6,342 | 3.3% | |
| 1980 | 6,097 | −3.9% | |
| 1990 | 6,056 | −0.7% | |
| 2000 | 6,080 | 0.4% | |
| 2010 | 5,670 | −6.7% | |
| 2020 | 5,877 | 3.7% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census | |||
In 2010, Petoskey had 5,670 people living there. There were 2,538 households. About 24% of households had children under 18. The average age in the city was 39.8 years old.
Getting Around Petoskey
Airports
- The closest airports with regular flights are in Pellston Regional Airport and Traverse City.
Bus Services
- Indian Trails offers daily bus service. You can travel between St. Ignace and East Lansing, Michigan. There is also service between Grand Rapids, Michigan and Petoskey.
- The EMGO/SRR bus service runs Monday through Friday. It connects Petoskey, Mackinaw City, and Harbor Springs. It also goes to many other places in Emmet County.
Train Services
- Freight trains still serve Petoskey. The tracks are owned by the state of Michigan. This helps keep train service in northern Michigan.
- In the past, passenger trains like the Northern Arrow and Resort Special came to Petoskey. They brought people from cities like Chicago and Detroit. These services stopped in the late 1900s.
Petoskey Marina
- The City of Petoskey has a marina with 144 boat slips. It is in Bayfront Park. The marina offers fuel, boat launches, and Wi-Fi. It also has power, water, and restrooms.
- The Gaslight District is connected to Bayfront Park by a tunnel. The marina is recognized as a "Michigan Clean Marina."
Main Roads
US 31 runs through the center of Petoskey. It goes south to Traverse City and north to Mackinaw City.
US 131 starts in Petoskey. It goes south to Grand Rapids.- M-119 is a scenic road. It goes around the north side of Little Traverse Bay to Harbor Springs.
Education
Petoskey is home to North Central Michigan College. The public school system has a high school, a middle school, and four elementary schools. There is also a Montessori building.
Famous People from Petoskey
- Megan Boone, an actress known for the TV show The Blacklist
- Bruce Catton, a historian who wrote about the U.S. Civil War
- Christopher Ciccone, an artist and interior designer, brother of singer Madonna
- Forest Evashevski, a college football player and coach
- Mark Farner, lead singer and guitarist for the band Grand Funk Railroad
- David Malpass, an economist and former president of the World Bank Group
- Claude Shannon, known as the "father of information theory"
- Hal Smith, a voice actor who played Otis Campbell on The Andy Griffith Show
- Sufjan Stevens, a singer-songwriter
Media
- Newspaper: Petoskey News-Review
- Magazines: Traverse focuses on local interests.
Radio Stations
Petoskey has several local radio stations:
- AM Radio: WOUF (750 AM), WWMN (1110 AM), WMKT (1270 AM), WMBN (1340 AM)
- FM Radio: WTLI (89.3 FM), WTCK (90.9 FM), WJOG (91.3 FM), WBCM (93.5 FM), WLXT (96.3 FM), WAWM (98.9 FM), WICV (100.9 FM), WMKC (102.9 FM), WCMW (103.9 FM), WKHQ (105.9 FM), WLJD (107.9 FM)
Climate
Petoskey has a climate with big temperature changes between seasons. Summers are warm to hot and often humid. Winters are cold, sometimes very cold. This type of climate is called a humid continental climate. Because Petoskey is close to Lake Michigan, the seasons change slowly. August is usually the hottest month, and February is the coldest.
| Climate data for Petoskey, Michigan (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1891–present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 56 (13) |
63 (17) |
84 (29) |
93 (34) |
94 (34) |
96 (36) |
101 (38) |
99 (37) |
96 (36) |
87 (31) |
76 (24) |
65 (18) |
101 (38) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 27.4 (−2.6) |
28.4 (−2.0) |
36.6 (2.6) |
48.1 (8.9) |
60.8 (16.0) |
70.3 (21.3) |
75.2 (24.0) |
74.9 (23.8) |
68.9 (20.5) |
56.0 (13.3) |
43.7 (6.5) |
33.6 (0.9) |
52.0 (11.1) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 21.2 (−6.0) |
21.1 (−6.1) |
28.4 (−2.0) |
39.9 (4.4) |
51.7 (10.9) |
61.7 (16.5) |
67.2 (19.6) |
66.8 (19.3) |
60.2 (15.7) |
48.6 (9.2) |
37.7 (3.2) |
28.3 (−2.1) |
44.4 (6.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 15.0 (−9.4) |
13.7 (−10.2) |
20.2 (−6.6) |
31.7 (−0.2) |
42.6 (5.9) |
53.2 (11.8) |
59.3 (15.2) |
58.7 (14.8) |
51.4 (10.8) |
41.2 (5.1) |
31.6 (−0.2) |
23.0 (−5.0) |
36.8 (2.7) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −27 (−33) |
−35 (−37) |
−19 (−28) |
0 (−18) |
20 (−7) |
31 (−1) |
36 (2) |
31 (−1) |
26 (−3) |
15 (−9) |
−2 (−19) |
−18 (−28) |
−35 (−37) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 2.40 (61) |
1.66 (42) |
1.94 (49) |
2.91 (74) |
3.07 (78) |
2.92 (74) |
2.53 (64) |
3.25 (83) |
3.55 (90) |
4.50 (114) |
3.04 (77) |
2.44 (62) |
34.21 (869) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 39.3 (100) |
27.2 (69) |
12.2 (31) |
4.5 (11) |
0.1 (0.25) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.3 (0.76) |
9.4 (24) |
30.6 (78) |
123.6 (314) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 18.2 | 13.9 | 10.8 | 11.8 | 12.3 | 10.6 | 10.1 | 10.5 | 12.2 | 16.7 | 16.8 | 17.3 | 161.2 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 14.4 | 11.3 | 5.4 | 1.9 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 4.7 | 12.3 | 50.4 |
| Source: NOAA | |||||||||||||
Images for kids
-
By 1876, the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad had built a line north to Petoskey. Petoskey became the county seat of Emmet County in 1902.
-
Petoskey viewed from the harbor, circa 1900s
-
The Petoskey stone, a form of ancient fossil coral found in abundance in the area; it is named after the town.
-
City Hall
-
The Little Traverse History Museum is housed in the former Chicago and West Michigan Railroad depot.
-
Petoskey Marina
-
Mineral Well Park is one of many sites and buildings in Petoskey listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
See also
In Spanish: Petoskey para niños
