Included in the rich fabric of Mackinac history are the many threads connected to the presidency of the United States. As we celebrate President’s Day during the America250 celebration, we are reminded of the presidents who actually visited Mackinac, and those who came close.
Through the Straits
James Monroe was the first president to visit Michigan Territory when he conducted an inspection tour of Detroit and the downriver area in 1817. While Monroe did not journey to the Straits, it was during his administration that the Borough of Michilimackinac (today’s City of Mackinac Island) was incorporated.
Thirty-one years later, Abraham Lincoln, a member of the United States House of Representatives, came close to Mackinac while traveling from Washington, D.C. to Springfield, Illinois. Sailing onboard the sidewheel steamer Globe, Lincoln passed through the Straits of Mackinac in early October, 1848.
William Howard Taft crossed on a train ferry from Mackinaw City to St. Ignace in 1911.
Ulysses S. Grant
It appears, from the reminiscences of Grace Franks Kane whose family owned the Mission House, that Ulysses S. Grant visited Mackinac Island sometime shortly after the Civil War.
Grant plays an important part in the Mackinac story, though, as it was Grant that signed Mackinac National Park into law on March 3, 1875.
Summer White House on Mackinac?
Beginning in the early 20th century, several presidents were invited to consider Mackinac Island as a location for a summer White House. Taft was invited in 1911. Several other presidents, from Calvin Coolidge to Dwight Eisenhower received attractive invitations to consider Mackinac, but all declined. An album used to invite Franklin Roosevelt to create a summer White House on Mackinac Island is housed at The Richard & Jane Manoogian Mackinac Art Museum.
Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush
Gerald Ford first visited Mackinac Island as a member of the inaugural Fort Mackinac Scout Honor Guard in 1929. Ford returned to Mackinac 46 year later as President of the United States. The only sitting president to ever visit the island, Ford’s trip generated many memorable activities including his arrival by helicopter in front of the Scout Barracks, touring Fort Mackinac, attending Sunday service at Trinity Episcopal Church, golfing on the Grand Hotel course, and sampling vanilla pecan fudge “fresh off the slab” at May’s Fudge.
George H.W. Bush participated in the Annual Labor Day Mackinac Bridge Walk in 1992, becoming the only sitting president to do so.
Before and After the Presidency
Harry Truman and George H. W. Bush visited Mackinac following their years in the nation’s highest office. Truman visited the island in August 1955 as part of a fund raising trip for his presidential library. Bush arrived on September 20, 2005 to speak at the Forbes CEO Conference at Grand Hotel.
Both John F. Kennedy and Bill Clinton visited Mackinac Island prior to their presidencies. Kennedy traveled to the island in June 1960 to secure Governor G. Mennen Williams’ support for his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for the presidency. Clinton was governor of Arkansas when he visited Mackinac in July 1987 during the Democratic Governor’s Association Conference hosted by Michigan’s Jim Blanchard.
Today
To our knowledge, our four most recent presidents – Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Barack Obama, and George W. Bush – have not visited Mackinac. In 2019, then Vice President Mike Pence became the first sitting vice president to visit Mackinac Island.
There is no doubt that Mackinac Island, and the Straits of Mackinac, with its historical charm, natural beauty, and elegant resort amenities, will continue to draw politicians and attract those seeking and serving in our nation’s highest office.
