History
Beaver island, the largest island in Lake Michigan, has a rich and fascinating history. It was home to the only kingdom to exist in the Americas, led by King James Jesse Strang of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Strangite. The Kingdom was fraught with conflict, both internal and external, ending with the assassination of King Strang in 1856 by two of his followers.
The Odawa established small fishing villages on Beaver Island several hundred years before Europeans first arrived. In 1832, Father Frederic Baraga began converting the native residents to Catholicism, and by the early 1840s the population was large enough for two trading posts to be established. Meanwhile, in Illinois in 1844, Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon Church, sent James Jesse Strang, whom he had met earlier that year, to Burlington, Wisconsin, to establish the Church in that area. Smith was killed while Strang was away, leading to a succession crisis over leadership of the Church. Strang claimed to have been designated successor by Smith, and produced a letter stating such, supposedly written by Smith just before he died. Most Church members chose to follow Brigham Young to Salt Lake City, while Strang led a smaller flock to Voree, Wisconsin. In 1848, prompted by high costs and a developing schism within the Strangite sect, Strang moved his followers to Beaver Island, where many Irish immigrants had already established a community. Conflict quickly arose between the Mormons, who flourished and rapidly gained economic and political power, and the existing inhabitants. The Mormons established the harbor town of St. James, isolating themselves from the non-Mormons. As many as 12,000 followers lived on the Island between 1848 and 1856, and using their growing political power forced the other inhabitants to pay a tithe to the Strangite Church. Strang was crowned by his followers as “King of Heaven and Earth” in 1850, not long after taking up a polygamous relationship with a 19-year-old girl (he eventually fathered 14 children with 5 wives). He was elected to the Michigan legislature in 1853 and again in 1855, where he used his growing power to help establish Manitou County, consisting of Beaver and surrounding islands. Conflict with non-Mormons, both on and off the island, grew markedly. Reports of Mormon piracy of Lake Michigan shipping, and raids into Wisconsin and Illinois, abounded. Strang also alienated many powerful members of the Church by flogging or ex-communicating them for offenses such as adultery and drunkenness. Violence increased, with a group of Irish fisherman, who had earlier fled the island, failing in an attempt to retake the island in the “Battle of Whiskey Point.” Finally, in 1856, Strang was attacked and severely wounded by two disaffected members of his church. He returned to Voree, dying three weeks later at the age of 43. The assassins were taken to Mackinac Island, which was home to many of the former Irish inhabitants of Beaver Island. They were tried, fined $1.25, and released.
After Strang’s death, the Mormons on Beaver Island were quickly displaced by Irish Catholic fisherman and others returning from surrounding areas. Manitou County was split up in 1895, with Charlevoix County absorbing Beaver Island (the northern part becoming the Township of St. James) and Leelanau County incorporating the Manitous. The Island thrived through fishing and logging until the 1950s, when sea lampreys, entering lake Michigan through the Welland Canal and the Saint Lawrence Seaway, caused the near-destruction of the Great Lakes fishing industry. By the 1970s, Beaver Island had become a quiet tourist destination with little remaining industry. While the number of year-around residents has dwindled to only about 600, in the summer the population can swell to over 20,000, with people pouring in to occupy the cottages, lodges, and camps that dot the island and its beaches. Tourism is flourishing, and construction of new summer homes is the main industry. The many tourists access the island through a ferry service and two airports, but a seaplane base could certainly help with the growing influx of summertime revelers.
The seaplane base as constructed for Microsoft Flight Simulator
St. James harbor is an excellent spot for a seaplane base, but it is difficult to find an unused area for development near the main settlement. I decided to commandeer a portion of the Jewell Gillespie Park and St. James Beach, along with its large paved parking lot. I did leave a section of the beach, and added a sign indicating where the park is. The seaplane base now consists of a dock with room for three float planes (one space occupied) and a tarmac with a hangar and an office. There are two parking spots for amphibious planes on the ramp and another parking spot with fuel. A taxiway for amphibious planes leads to the ramp from the lake with the entry marked in red flashing lights. The dock is accessed from a pier that connects to the tarmac. There are also two spots to moor float planes or flying boats. Transportation to the dock is available via motorboat for those who wish to moor or anchor in the lake – contact UNICOM before landing. The 6000-foot water runway (12-30) is marked by green lighted buoys. Radio service includes ASOS on 121.425 and UNICOM/CTAF on 122.8, which is shared with both Welke (6Y8) and Beaver Island (KSJX) airports located on the Island, and also with Charlevoix Municipal Airport (KCVX) on the mainland. Air and ferry transportation to the island originate in Charlevoix. The Beaver Island Ferry operates from a jetty just to the north of the seaplane base. Contact UNICOM for departure times so that you aren’t starting your landing run while the ferry is departing. I have given the seaplane base the unused designation 91B.
Notes
To install the airport, unzip and place the folder titled "mulberrywing-airport-91b-beaver-island-harbor-seaplane-base" in your community folder. You will also need to download the Seaplane Asset Library from flightsim.to and place it in your community folder. Many thanks to 30West for providing this great library!
For a nice trip by float plane, start at the Elberta Seaplane Base, 73 nm to the south, and fly along the coast over Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore to Northport on the Leelanau peninsula. From there you can continue north to Charlevoix, Petoskey, and Harbor Springs. Or, for a longer trip, turn south and check out Traverse City before turning northbound along the Mission Peninsula in Grand Traverse Bay. In either case, turn westbound from Cross Village just to the north of Harbor Springs, and continue 20 nm to St. James.
When you fly over the island you will see a major road heading due south from St. James into the interior of the island. This is King’s Highway, originally built by the Mormon settlers in the 1850s.
Here is a lovely article from The Irish Times reflecting on the connection between Beaver Island and Ireland.
Thank you so much for this mod, I was really caught off guard when I landed by how well done it is, I used it in my last video https://youtu.be/k_MYclcUwoU
11 months ago
10 months ago
MulberryWing
linuxmonster
I still have to pick up all of these, planning to do a stream and hit them all hopefully in one night! Going to fly the new "Scrapyard Monster" available here on .TO for free!
Thanks for your amazing work Mulberry!
11 months ago
That sounds great! Would appreciate any suggestions for fixes, tweaks, or improvements.
11 months ago
MulberryWing
BurstixTV
Nice place and well done. Thanks!
11 months ago
You're very kind! Thank you!
11 months ago
MulberryWing
fStopper