A Brief History of Burleigh Township
by Lugene Daniels
Before the French fur-traders impacted the Great Lakes
region, several Native American Indian tribes called this area their home. The French dominated the territory from 1608
to 1760, and the English did likewise from 1760 to 1775. The Indians grew dependent upon European
goods and remained loyal to the English during the American Revolution.
The land that would eventually become Michigan was opened to settlers after the Treaty of 1807. Michigan achieved statehood on January 26, 1837. By the 1840s the first white settlement was established in this area. This settlement was called AuSable and was supported by a well-established commercial fishing industry.
By the late 1830s and the early 1840s government surveys had been made, and what we know as Iosco today had been platted and designated as “Kanotin,” an Indian word which means “in the path of the big wind.” But, it was Henry R. Schoolcraft, Indian Commissioner in Michigan at the time, that blessed the area with the name “Iosco,” meaning “water of light.”
In the mid-1850s, the settlement of Tawas City was established at the mouth of the river that traversed the area. The name Tawas memorialized an old Chippewa Indian chief who camped on the shore of Lake Huron when the Whittemore Family arrived to the area from Pontiac.
In the mid-1850s, Gideon O. Whittemore, and his sons Charles H. and James O., recognized the need for county organization. Hence, in 1857, Iosco County was legally and lawfully adopted as a county of Michigan, and two townships were designated in the organization. They were Tawas (south portion of the county) and Sable (northern portion of the county).
Michigan led the nation in lumber production from 1870 to 1900. During the 1880s, when the lumber harvest peaked, Michigan was providing 25% of the national production. Lumber was more valuable to this state at this time than gold was to California during the Gold Rush. Michigan white pine was used extensively for building homes and shops in the Midwest and to rebuild Chicago after its Great Fire on October 9, 1871.
Iosco County transformed from a major fishing village to a settlement of huge sawmills, lumber booms, shingle mills, and lumber companies during the 1880s. Immense quantities of pine were cut along the rivers and many miles inland. Logs were floated down the many rivers and creeks that drained the land into Lake Huron, which led to sawmills on the shore. From there, steamboats moved the lumber south to ports more easily accessed by the railroad, thereby making the two industries develop simultaneously.
The land that would eventually become Michigan was opened to settlers after the Treaty of 1807. Michigan achieved statehood on January 26, 1837. By the 1840s the first white settlement was established in this area. This settlement was called AuSable and was supported by a well-established commercial fishing industry.
By the late 1830s and the early 1840s government surveys had been made, and what we know as Iosco today had been platted and designated as “Kanotin,” an Indian word which means “in the path of the big wind.” But, it was Henry R. Schoolcraft, Indian Commissioner in Michigan at the time, that blessed the area with the name “Iosco,” meaning “water of light.”
In the mid-1850s, the settlement of Tawas City was established at the mouth of the river that traversed the area. The name Tawas memorialized an old Chippewa Indian chief who camped on the shore of Lake Huron when the Whittemore Family arrived to the area from Pontiac.
In the mid-1850s, Gideon O. Whittemore, and his sons Charles H. and James O., recognized the need for county organization. Hence, in 1857, Iosco County was legally and lawfully adopted as a county of Michigan, and two townships were designated in the organization. They were Tawas (south portion of the county) and Sable (northern portion of the county).
Michigan led the nation in lumber production from 1870 to 1900. During the 1880s, when the lumber harvest peaked, Michigan was providing 25% of the national production. Lumber was more valuable to this state at this time than gold was to California during the Gold Rush. Michigan white pine was used extensively for building homes and shops in the Midwest and to rebuild Chicago after its Great Fire on October 9, 1871.
Iosco County transformed from a major fishing village to a settlement of huge sawmills, lumber booms, shingle mills, and lumber companies during the 1880s. Immense quantities of pine were cut along the rivers and many miles inland. Logs were floated down the many rivers and creeks that drained the land into Lake Huron, which led to sawmills on the shore. From there, steamboats moved the lumber south to ports more easily accessed by the railroad, thereby making the two industries develop simultaneously.