Bois Blanc Township ( ) is a civil township of Mackinac County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 100 at the 2020 census.
History
"Bois Blanc" is French for "white wood". The name is commonly thought to be a reference to either: (a) the paper birch, or more likely (b) the basswood, called "bois blanc" in other contexts. The basswood's white underbark was extensively used by Native Americans and French-speaking fur traders for cordage, including the sewing up of canoes and the manufacture of webbing for snowshoes. Bois Blanc is in the traditional lands of the Mackinac Bands of Chippewa and Ottawa Indians.
Bois Blanc was ceded by the local Anishinaabe (Chippewa) to the U.S. federal government with the Treaty of Greenville in 1795 by Chippewa Chief Menehwehna. After extensive use as a source of kilned lime and firewood for Mackinac Island and other local frontier settlements, Bois Blanc was settled in the late 1800s as a summer resort community. The Bois Blanc Light lighthouse (1867) survives on the northern shore of the island; it is no longer in service as a lighthouse and is not open to the public.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the township has a total area of , of which is land and (27.94%) is water.
The township is located on the eastern end of the Straits of Mackinac directly north of the city of Cheboygan. It is politically and geographically part of the state's Upper Peninsula. While the rest of the Upper Peninsula uses the area code 906, Bois Blanc Township is the only municipality in the Upper Peninsula that uses the area code 231. Bois Blanc Township is one of only seven municipalities in the state of Michigan to consist entirely of islands, including Grosse Ile Township, Drummond Township, St. James Township, Mackinac Island, Peaine Township, and Sugar Island Township.
The township should not be confused with another Bois Blanc Island, which is a Canadian island in the Detroit River much further to the south. That island is also nicknamed "Boblo."
Communities
- Bois Blanc Island is a historic settlement on the island. Its native name of Mikobiminiss means "white wood" from the simple French translation, and the township would later share the same name. A post office name Bois Blanc began operating on the island on December 12, 1884. It was closed from June 19, 1886 until June 15, 1888; it was respelled as Boisblanc on October 19, 1895.
- Pointe Aux Pins is an unincorporated community on the southern coast of Bois Blanc Island at . The plat of this resort community was recorded in 1888 by the Bois Blanc Island Land Company of Jackson. The Pointe Aux Pins post office was established on May 15, 1889. It was briefly closed from October 25, 1889 until being restored on May 29, 1890. The name comes from French translation for its location in the pine forest area. The Pointe Aux Pins post office uses the 49775 ZIP Code that serves an area conterminous with the township. It is the only post office for the township, while the name Bois Blanc Island can also be used for mail delivery.
- Sand Bay is a former lumber settlement developed around a sawmill and general store operated by the E. H. Stafford Manufacturing Company. A post office in Sand Bay began operating on November 12, 1909 but has long been disestablished.