Petoskey, Michigan facts for kids

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Quick facts for kids Petoskey
City
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 (/pəˈtɒski/ pə-TOSS-kee) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Emmet County, and is the largest settlement within the county. Petoskey has a population of 5,877 at the 2020 census, up from 5,670 at the 2010 census.

Petoskey is part of Northern Michigan, and is one of the northernmost cities in Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Petoskey is located on the southern shore of Little Traverse Bay, a bay of Lake Michigan. Petoskey sits directly across the bay from Harbor Springs, another Emmet County city. Petoskey is a popular Midwestern resort town.

Petoskey lends its name to the Petoskey stone, a fossilized coral that is the state stone of Michigan.

History

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.

Odawa inhabitants

The Little Traverse Bay area was long inhabited by indigenous peoples, including the Odawa people. The name Petoskey is said to mean "where the light shines through the clouds" in the language of the Odawa. After the 1836 Treaty of Washington, Odawa Chief Ignatius Petosega (1787–1885) took the opportunity to purchase lands near the Bear River. Petosega's father was Antoine Carre, a French Canadian fur trader and his mother was Odawa.

Early Presbyterian missions

By the 1850s, several religious groups had established missions near the Little Traverse Bay. A Mormon offshoot had been based at Beaver Island, the Jesuit missionaries had been based at L'arbor Croche and Michilimackinac, with a Catholic presence in Harbor Springs, then known as "Little Traverse". Andrew Porter, a Presbyterian missionary, arrived at the village of Bear River (as it was then called) in 1852.

Pioneer commercial interests

Amos Fox and Hirem Obed Rose were pioneer entrepreneurs who had made money during both the California Gold Rush and at Northport selling lumber and goods to passing ships. Originally based at Northport, in the 1850s Rose and Fox (or Fox & Rose) expanded their business interests to Charlevoix and Petoskey. Rose also earned income as part of a business partnership that extended the railroad from Walton Junction to Traverse City. H.O. Rose, along with Archibald Buttars, established a general merchandise business in Petoskey.

After the partnership split, Rose relocated to Petoskey and in 1873 built the first dock in the town. When the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad was about to be extended into the Bay View area, Rose purchased much land in that area, as well as trolley cars, to enable transport between Petoskey and Bay View. Rose also developed the first general store, extensive lime quarries (Michigan Limestone Company, aka Petoskey Lime Company;), building the Arlington Hotel, and lumbering enterprises, and harbor improvements in 1893. He served as first president of the village and officiated at early commemorative public events. Rose's influence on the city was also commemorated by the naming of the H. O. Rose room at the Perry Hotel.

Passenger Pigeons

Petoskey viewed from the harbor, circa 1900s

In the late 19th century, Petoskey was in the region of Northern Michigan where 50,000 passenger pigeon birds were killed daily in massive hunts, leading to their complete extinction in the early 20th century. A state historical marker memorializes these events, including the last great nesting of the passenger pigeons at Crooked Lake in 1878. One hunter was reputed to have personally killed "a million birds" and earned $60,000, the equivalent of $1 million today.

Petoskey is noted for a high concentration of ancient fossil coral, now named Petoskey stones, designated as the state stone of Michigan.

This city was the northern terminus of the Chicago and West Michigan Railway.

With members descended from the numerous bands in northern Michigan, the Little Traverse Bay Band is a federally recognized tribe that has its headquarters at nearby Harbor Springs, Michigan. It also owns and operates a gaming casino in Petoskey.

Geography

The Petoskey stone, a form of ancient fossil coral found in abundance in the area; it is named after the town.

Part of Northern Michigan, Petoskey is on the southeast shore of the Little Traverse Bay of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Bear River. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.29 square miles (13.70 km²), of which 5.09 square miles (13.18 km²) is land and 0.20 square miles (0.52 km²) is water.

Demographics

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

City Hall

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 5,670 people, 2,538 households, and 1,319 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,113.9 inhabitants per square mile (430.1/km²). There were 3,359 housing units at an average density of 659.9 per square mile (254.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.7% White, 0.7% African American, 4.7% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.5% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.9% of the population.

There were 2,538 households, of which 24.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.7% were married couples living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 48.0% were non-families. 39.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.10 and the average family size was 2.81.

The median age in the city was 39.8 years. 19.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 11.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.5% were from 25 to 44; 28.1% were from 45 to 64; and 16.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.3% male and 52.7% female.

Transportation

The Little Traverse History Museum is housed in the former Chicago and West Michigan Railroad depot.

Petoskey Marina

Airports

The nearest airports with scheduled passenger service are in Pellston Regional Airport and Traverse City Cherry Capital Airport.

Bus

Indian Trails provides daily intercity bus service between St. Ignace and East Lansing, Michigan and between Grand Rapids, Michigan and Petoskey. Transfer between the two lines is possible in Petoskey.
The EMGO/SRR bus service runs Monday through Friday, from Petoskey, Mackinaw City, Harbor Springs, and to multiple locations in Emmet County with flexible routes within many communities along the way.

Rail

Freight rail service to Petoskey is limited and provided by the Tuscola and Saginaw Bay Railway (TSBY); however, the tracks are owned by the state of Michigan in order to preserve rail service in northern Michigan. Freight traffic includes plastic pellets delivered to a rail/truck transload facility for Petoskey Plastics. Occasional passenger/special excursion trains to Petoskey occur every now and then.

Historically, the Pennsylvania Railroad's Northern Arrow, the Pere Marquette Railway's Resort Special and other trains provided passenger traffic to Petoskey and Bay View, Michigan from as far as Chicago, St. Louis, Cincinnati and Detroit but these were discontinued in the late 20th century. The Pere Marquette trains (and later the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway) used its station, and the Pennsylvania Railroad its own separate station. The last Chesapeake and Ohio (successor to the Pere Marquette) trains were discontinued by 1963, thus ending scheduled passenger train service to Petoskey.

Marina

The City of Petoskey Department of Parks and Recreation operates a 144-slip marina located in Bayfront Park. The marina offers seasonal and transient slips, gasoline, diesel fuel, boat launch, wireless internet, 30/50 AMP power, water, pump-out, restroom/showers, playground and adjacent park grounds. The Gaslight District is connected to Bayfront Park via a pedestrian tunnel. The marina received initial designation as a "Michigan Clean Marina" in May 2007 and was recertified in 2010.

Major highways

US 31 is a major highway running through the heart of the city. It continues southerly toward Charlevoix, Traverse City and Muskegon and northerly to a terminus near Mackinaw City.
US 131 has its northern terminus in the city and continues southerly toward Cadillac and Grand Rapids.
M-119, accessible off US 31 east of the city and Bay View, continues around the north side of Little Traverse Bay to Harbor Springs and then to Cross Village.
C-58 begins at C-81 just east of the city and continues to Wolverine.
C-81 is a north–south route passing just to the east of the city.

Education

Among the many colleges in Michigan includes North Central Michigan College, located in Petoskey. The public school system consists of a high school, a middle school, and four elementary schools. Additionally, Petoskey Public Schools has a Montessori education building.

Notable people

Megan Boone, actress, star of NBC series The Blacklist
Katie Brown, television host
Bruce Catton, U.S. Civil War historian
Grace Chandler, photographer based in Petoskey
Forest Evashevski, College football player and coach including national championship at University of Iowa football
Mark Farner, lead singer, lead guitarist of Grand Funk Railroad
Alan Hewitt, musician and keyboardist for the Moody Blues, formerly worked with Earth, Wind and Fire
David Malpass, economist, government official, president of the World Bank Group
Herb Orvis, NFL defensive tackle 1972–81, member of College Football Hall of Fame
Claude Shannon, father of information theory
Hal Smith, voice actor, Otis Campbell on The Andy Griffith Show
Mark Smolinski, NFL fullback 1961-1968 for the Baltimore Colts and the New York Jets
Sufjan Stevens, singer-songwriter
Famous Last Words (band), modern post hardcore band0

Media

Mineral Well Park is one of many sites and buildings in Petoskey listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Newspaper

Petoskey News-Review

Magazines

Traverse, is published monthly with a focus on regional interests.

Local AM radio

WLDR (750) - country; simulcast of WLDR-FM Traverse City
WJML (1110) - Talk
WMKT (1270) - News/Talk (licensed to Charlevoix, studios in Petoskey)
WMBN (1340) - Sports Talk Radio

Local FM radio

WTLI (89.3) - contemporary Christian "Smile FM"
WTCK (90.9) - Catholic religious (Charlevoix)
WJOG (91.3) - contemporary Christian "Smile FM"
WBCM (93.5) - country; simulcast of WTCM-FM Traverse City
W237DA (95.3) - translator of WFDX-FM Atlanta (classic hits)
WLXT (96.3) - adult contemporary
WKLZ (98.9) - classic rock; simulcast of WKLT-FM Kalkaska
W259AH (99.7) - translator of WPHN-FM Gaylord (religious)
WICV (100.9) - classical (East Jordan); simulcast of WIAA-FM Interlochen
WMKC (102.9) - New Country (Indian River, Michigan, studios in Traverse City and Cheboygan)
WCMW (103.9) - CMU Public Radio (Harbor Springs)
WKHQ (105.9) - CHR/top 40 (licensed to Charlevoix, studios in Petoskey)
WLJD (107.9) - Christian (Charlevoix); simulcast of WLJN-FM

Climate

This climatic region has large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Petoskey has a humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps. The city’s proximity to Lake Michigan results in significant seasonal lag, with August and February being the hottest and coldest months respectively.

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

In popular culture

Petoskey and the surrounding area are notable in 20th-century U.S. literature as the setting of several of the Nick Adams stories written by Ernest Hemingway, who spent his childhood summers on nearby Walloon Lake. They are the setting for certain events in Jeffrey Eugenides' 2002 novel Middlesex, which also features Detroit and its suburban areas. The movie, "Beside Still Waters", directed by co-screenwriter Chris Lowell, was filmed in Petoskey in 2012.

Christopher Wright, an author from Topinabee, wrote his novel "Bestseller" in 2002 under the pen name Christopher Knight. Wright funded the movie project for his book to be filmed in Petoskey in 2013. Wright also wrote the children's series "Michigan Chillers" and the series "American Chillers" under the pen name Johnathon Rand.