Talk:Mackinac Island, Michigan

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Same question, different place. Is there any reason this article shouldn't be merged with Mackinac Island? older≠wiser 00:10, 10 May 2004 (UTC)

Good question. Are they basically coterminous with each other? That is, does one have a history, etc. distinct from the other, and vice versa? If the town were called something else, such as "Laketown", etc., would the article still be worth merging? -- Decumanus | Talk 00:28, 10 May 2004 (UTC)

I wish I knew. It looks to me as though the entire island coextensive with the municipality, although much of the island is unimproved, and there may be state land in it. But I'm not all that familiar with it, so I thought I'd get some opinions before I did something rash. older≠wiser 00:54, 10 May 2004 (UTC)

I don't know what the boundaries of the municipality are, but this map is illustrative [1]. Based on it, I would lean towards separate articles, but I am not really deeply knowledgeable about it, to say the least. Anyway, it seems the island article could be plenty long with historical and geographical description without adding in all the Rambot-generated demographics. But like I said, I'm not really the person to decide. -- Decumanus | Talk 03:10, 10 May 2004 (UTC)

Oddly the area listed by the census data for the "city" are the same as those for the entire island while two-thirds of the island area is state park which surely shouldn't count as part of the city. I say keep separate if only because the Ram-bot stuff will make the nice pretty article at Mackinac Island look ugly. Rmhermen 16:32, May 13, 2004 (UTC)

I grew up on Mackinac Island and worked there since I was 22. My family has lived there for generations and owns many businesses. It's as Decumanus said, they are different. The Village of Mackinac Island happens to exist on an island named Mackinac Island. Most of the island is a state park, and the State of Michgian has jurisdiction over that. The rest of the island is part of the village, and has it's own Mayor, court house, police station and everything else. The village is the only community so I imagine the census lists them the same more like a summary. I don't know of any islands with more then one city though, so I can't say for sure.

There are actually 3 entities being discussed.

1. The island named Mackinac Island, the physical land, etc

2. The Village of Mackinac Island, where people vote, get arrested, etc ;)

3. The Mackinac Island State Park run by the state

2 and 3 are located on number 1. I don't know if they should be one article or three, but they are very separate things in my mind.

Well, right now we have two out of three articles. We only need one about the State Park now. older≠wiser 12:22, 12 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Just to jump in on this discussion... a year later. There should be three distinct articles, as there are at present, as the three entities are definately NOT the same. Some of the previous comments aren't quite correct, however. Mackinac Island, the landform, is rather distinct and requires no explanation. Mackinac Island State Park only occupies a portion of Mackinac Island (the lanform) and reflects land ownership and a historical/recreational entity. The City of Mackinac Island, on the other hand, not only occupies all of Mackinac Island (the landform), but also all of neighboring Round Island as well. Trust me, I thought that was an error too the first time I saw it. However, further research using a variety of official sources from the State of Michigan, including the State Boundary Commission, the Department of Transportation (MDOT) and the Center for Geographic Information (CGI) all confirm that the City also encompasses all of Round Island as well, and has done so since at least 1899, when the City was created by the State Legislature as a "special charter city." Thus, NONE of three entities are coincident in geographic terms and are very different in terms of function/purpose. At least as I see it... I have revised the articles for the island (the landform) as well as the City of Mackinac Island. CBessert 08:35, July 30, 2005 (UTC)