"The Grand Hotel" in Mackinac Island

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Mackinac Island (pronounced like MACK-in-aw; note the silent "c") is a small island, 3.776 square miles (9.780 km2) in land area, in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located in Lake Huron, at the eastern end of the Straits of Mackinac, between the state's Upper and Lower Peninsulas. The island was a Native American settlement before European exploration began in the 17th century. It served a strategic position amidst the commerce of the Great Lakes fur trade. This led to the establishment of Fort Mackinac on the island by the British during the American Revolutionary War. It was the scene of two strategic battles during the War of 1812.[3]In 1886, the Michigan Central Railroad, Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad, and Detroit and Cleveland Steamship Navigation Company formed the Mackinac Island Hotel Company. The group purchased the land on which the hotel was built and construction began, based upon the design by Detroit architects Mason and Rice. When it opened the following year, the hotel was advertised to Chicago, Erie, Montreal and Detroit residents as a summer retreat for vacationers who arrived by lake steamer and by rail from across the continent. At its opening, nightly rates at the hotel ranged from US$3 to US$5 a night.[4] there are so many cool historical facts about Michigan that I have been looking up lately as I have been researching great family getaways this summer.... I just love the history about the Grand Hotel.... also 5 presidents have stayed there... Harry Truman, John Kennedy, Gerald Ford, George H. Bush, and Bill Clinton... and they have no motor vehicles there to this day... you are ferried over, and you can either rent a bike, walk, ride the horse drawn trolly.... or horse and carriage... a great family vacation or a great romantic getaway.... how cool is that!! have you heard anything about the Grand Hotel before?? besides the movie "Somewhere in Time" with Christopher Reeves and Jane Seymour..... Do you have any great historical hotels or buildings near you?