Mackinaw City Historical Pathway
Founder of Mackinaw CityPresented at the dedication of the statue of Edgar Conkling by Jerry Prior in Conkling Heritage Park
Edgar was born in New York during the War of 1812, while Mackinaw City was still a British territory. He was raised in New York City. As he approached adulthood in the 1830s, it was a time of great western movement inspired by improved modes of transportation such as the Erie Canal and the trans-Appalachian road. It was also a time of deadly cholera epidemics in New York City.
Edgar's family moved to Mt. Vernon, Ohio in 1831 when Edgar was 18 years old. At 20 years old he married Belinda Longworth whose father owned acres of rolling Appalachian foothills, which held salt springs. He had a salt producing business in which Edgar probably participated. In 1836, when the trees to fuel the fires were all burned, both the Longworth and Conkling families moved to LeRoy, Illinois.
This was a promising town with the arrival of a railroad eminent. Here Edgar ran a merchandise store and speculated in land development. From Mackinaw City's perspective this was a critical time. While living in LeRoy he undoubtedly became aware of Mackinac Island. Only a few miles from his home in LeRoy was the town of Mackinaw, Illinois. This Mackinaw was named by the fur traders who spent the
winters in Illinois and the summers on Mackinac Island. This was the peak of fur trading times.
Edgar also learned about platting land. In LeRoy, he platted sections of town with the specifications that the lots be 40 feet wide and 125 feet deep. The streets were 66 feet wide. His land speculations failed even though he built 25 "spec" houses to encourage purchases. The recession of 1837 slowed the wild western expansion drastically.
In 1841, at the age of 29, he and Belinda moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, the 6th largest city in America. Here he started a paint company. Demand for paint was great because homes were now being made of wooden siding rather than logs. Siding needed to be painted. He was apparently very successful. He also speculated in railroad stock and again in land development. His paint company was merged with others and today is the company Eagle Pitcher, a Fortune 500 company that makes appliance paint and batteries for space vehicles.
Once the railroad between Cincinnati and Toledo, Ohio was completed, Edgar and Belinda took a vacation trip to see Mackinac Island. They went by rail to Toledo and then steamship to Mackinac Island.
The land developer in Edgar could not help but be impressed by the potential of northern Michigan. James Strang, of Beaver Island, was the region's legislator, and he was bringing government and roads to northern Michigan. In 1853, he had the counties now named Emmet and Cheboygan laid out and government organized. As a 2-time state representative in 1852 and 1854 he was constantly pushing for roads to connect Mackinaw to the north and south.
Also, at this time the Soo locks were being constructed, and in 1855 they opened bringing large numbers of freighters past Mackinaw on their way to Chicago. The region was also receiving federal attention with a lightship parked at Waugoshance Point, and by 1856 a lighthouse was built on the site. No wonder Edgar foresaw this area as the Chicago of the north.
In 1854 he bought 1800 acres of land, including land as far south as Cheboygan and as far north as St. Ignace. But the Mackinaw City area showed the most promise, and in 1857 he had the town platted in anticipation of the arrival of railroad line and roads.
Unfortunately, the bigger world again upset Edgar's development plans. The Civil War interrupted railroad construction; Mackinaw languished until well after the Civil War. The first settlers did not arrive until the 1870s with the Stimpsons of Cheboygan moving here.
Edgar was doggedly loyal to his dreams for Mackinaw. He had promoted and defended his lands for decades. He and Belinda moved here in 1870. Belinda died in Mackinaw City in 1871. Edgar then moved to New York City. When his health declined he moved back to Illinois to live with family. He died in 1881, one day before the arrival of the railroad to Mackinaw City. He and Belinda are buried in Bloomington, Illinois.
Today, I remember Edgar every time I drive the Streets. He learned from LeRoy and Platted Mackinaw City with bigger lots and bigger streets. Our lots are 50 by 150 feet and the streets are 80 feet wide. This means that 25% of the land Edgar bought for Mackinaw City he turned into public lands. We all benefit from that generosity today.
The town is laid out in a dense square arrangement, not the long linear arrangement that St. Ignace is forced to deal with. In Edgar's dream, with arriving train passengers filling the town, his street plan would facilitate walking access to all parts of town. Edgar even specified that sidewalks should be 5 feet wide, huge by most town's standards. He made Mackinaw City the walking-friendly town which we benefit from today.
He also platted the two 150-foot wide boulevards that intersect at the village dock, now leased to Shepler's. These were originally planned for railroad lines but serve us well as major driving arteries.
Although 150 years later Edgar's Mackinaw City is still no Chicago, it has prospered because of Edgar's foresight and generosity.
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