Peshawbestown ( ) is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in Suttons Bay Township of Leelanau in the

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Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. In historical documents, the name is spelled variously as Peshabetown, Peshabatown, Pshawbatown, Preshabestown. The community is on

M-22 M-22 are a British-German DJ and producer duo consisting of Matt James and Frank Sanders. On March 22, the duo met, through a joint production, which is the reason for their stage name. History On March 22, 2015, the duo met during a joint p ...

about south of Northport, north of Suttons Bay, and about north of

Traverse City Traverse City ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Grand Traverse County, although a small portion extends into Leelanau County. It is the largest city in the 21-county Northern Michigan region. The population was ...

. It is on the east side of the

Leelanau Peninsula The Leelanau Peninsula ( ) is a peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan that extends about from the western side of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan into Lake Michigan. Leelanau County encompasses the entire peninsula. It is often referred to ...

on the western shore of the

Grand Traverse Bay Grand Traverse Bay is a deep bay of Lake Michigan formed by the Leelanau Peninsula in the northwestern Lower Peninsula of Michigan. The bay is long, wide, and up to deep in spots. It is further divided into two east and west arms by the Ol ...

. Peshawbestown occupies about of the federally recognized

Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians ( oj, Gichi-wiikwedong Odaawaag miina ojibweg) is a federally recognized Native American tribe located in northwest Michigan on the Leelanau Peninsula. Sam McClellan is the current tribal c ...

reservation. The primary economic base of the community is tourism, with the main feature being the Leelanau Sands Casino. Other notable feature include the historic

Kateri Tekakwitha Kateri Tekakwitha ( in Mohawk), given the name Tekakwitha, baptized as Catherine and informally known as Lily of the Mohawks (1656 – April 17, 1680), is a Catholic saint and virgin who was an Algonquin–Mohawk. Born in the Mohawk village of ...

Catholic Church, dedicated to the first Native American saint in the Roman Catholic Church, who was canonized in 2012. She was a

Mohawk Mohawk may refer to: Related to Native Americans * Mohawk people, an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York) *Mohawk language, the language spoken by the Mohawk people * Mohawk hairstyle, from a hairstyle once thought to have been ...

woman who converted to Catholicism in New York in the French colonial period, later moving to

Kahnawake The Kahnawake Mohawk Territory (french: Territoire Mohawk de Kahnawake, in the Mohawk language, ''Kahnawáˀkye'' in Tuscarora) is a First Nations reserve of the Mohawks of Kahnawá:ke on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Queb ...

near

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

. The tribe holds the annual Peshawbestown Pow-Wow, which takes place each August with native foods, tribal art, and dancing.

History

The community developed from a Franciscan

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

mission, beginning about 1850, to the Chippewa and Ottawa peoples of the area and appears to have been named for a chief of the indigenous people. In 1911 the village was described as "two long rows of log cabins, built in 1849," in a February 12, 1911, ''

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...

'' article quoted by Powers. He refers to the place as Pshawbatown, and said that Father

Ignatius Mrak Ignatius Mrak (October 16, 1810 – January 2, 1901) was a Slovenian-born American prelate of the Catholic Church who served as Bishop of Saulte Saint Marie and Marquette from 1869 to 1879. Biography Early life Ignatius Mrak was born on Octob ...

brought a group of Chippewa from Sault Ste. Marie to here in 1849 when he established the mission. But the ''

Catholic Encyclopedia The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...

'' says that from 1849 to 1851, Mrak was assisting Father Francis Pierz in ''Arbre Croche'', a former French colonial settlement near

Harbor Springs Harbor Springs is a city and resort community in Emmet County, Michigan. The population was 1,194 in the 2010 census. Harbor Springs is in a sheltered bay on the north shore of the Little Traverse Bay on Lake Michigan. The Little Traverse Li ...

Little Traverse Bay Little Traverse Bay is a small bay, 170 feet (55 m) deep, off Lake Michigan in the northern area of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. The cities of Harbor Springs and Petoskey are located on this bay. Harbor Springs originated as ''L'arbre de C ...

. Romig says the mission was begun in 1852 by Belgian-born Fr. Angelus Van Praemel. Mrak, who referred to it as Eagletown, succeeded him in 1855. Romig writes that Mrak's successor, the "Rev. Philip Zorn, calls it as Peshaube, after its ruling chief Peshaba; from 1895 on, Rev. Bruno Torka, O.F.M., who was next in charge, calls it Peshawbeston.

Gallery

File:Leelanau Sands Casino Peshawbestown Michigan.jpg, Leelanau Sands Casino File:Kateri Tekakwitha Church Peshawbestown Michigan.jpg, Saint

Paris File:Cemetery and church of Blessed Kateri Parish, Peshawbestown, Leelanau County, Michigan.jpg, Overlook of churchyard

References

Sources

* Powers, Perry Francis. ''A history of northern Michigan and its people''. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1912. pp. 351–35

* Romig, Walter, L.H.D. ''Michigan Place Names''. Detroit:

Wayne State University Press Wayne State University Press (or WSU Press) is a university press that is part of Wayne State University. It publishes under its own name and also the imprints Imprint or imprinting may refer to: Entertainment * ''Imprint'' (TV series), ...

, 1986
Catholic EncyclopediaThird Coast Traveller article on Peshawbestown

U.S. Census Bureau

History

Gallery

References

Sources

Further reading