15 places in Michigan with hard to pronounce names

15 placesWITH HARD

to PRONOUNCE

NAMES

in Michigan

Dianna Stampfler

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Mackinac vs Mackinaw

Whether you’re referring to Mackinaw Cityor Mackinac Island (or Mackinac Bridge or Straits of Mackinac), it’s pronounced Mack-i-naw. The area was named Michilimackinac by the Native Americans and when the French built their fort in 1715, they recorded the name with a "c" on the end as a French word with an "aw" sound would be pronounced. No matter which you’re referring to, “Mack-i-nack” is incorrect!

15 places with hard to pronounce names in Michigan

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Trufant (Montcalm County)

Trufant (pronounced “TRUE-funt” not “true-FONT”) is an unincorporated community located on Muskellonge Lake in the southeastern part of Maple Valley Township, in Montcalm County. Emery Trufant built the first water-powered sawmill here in 1872. The village was platted March 10, 1875, and was named Trufant, after its first settler. Trufant is primarily an agricultural and tourist area, with many summer cottages nearby. It is famous for its flea market, which is held every Thursday, spring through fall. It is also the “Fence Stump Capital of America.”



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Bete Grise (Keweenaw Peninsula)

Bete Grise (Bay-Dee-Gree) is a nature preserve foundsouthwest of Copper Harbor on the KeweenawPeninsula, in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. French for “Gray Beast,” this town is located along the shores of Lake Superior. Local legend says that the musical "voice" that emanates from the sand is that of a Native American maid who lost her lover to the Great Lakes and still calls to him from the shore with the aid of visitors who "play" the sand.



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Clio (Genesee County)

Clio (Cli-oh) is located near the northern border of Genesee County is considered a suburb of Flint. Originally named Varney after the city's first grain buyer, its name was changed in 1864. brought on by Colonel Hill, a literary minded local hotel owner. Colonel Hill convinced the local ladies to name the town after the Greek goddess Clio—muse of history and poetry, and daughterof Jupiter.



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Bois Blanc Island (Northern Lake Huron)

Bois Blanc (Bob-Lo – an English corruption of the French pronunciation of the name) is an island in Lake Huron. The island covers about 34 square miles and is about 12 miles long, 6 miles wide and has 6 lakes. It lies southeast of Mackinac Island and almost due north of the city of Cheboygan. "Bois Blanc" is French for "white wood“ and the name is commonly thought to be a reference to either the paper birch or more likely the basswood, called "bois blanc" in other contexts.



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Seul Choix Point Lighthouse (Gulliver)

Seul Choix (Sisch-Schwah) is a lighthouse located in the northwest corner of Lake Michigan in Schoolcraft County, in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The station was established in 1892 with a temporary light, and this light started service in 1895, andwas fully automated in 1972. It is an active aid to navigation. There is now a museum at the light and both the building and the grounds are open for visitors from Memorial Day until mid-October. It’s also rumored to be haunted!



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Ypsilanti (Washtenaw County)

Ypsilanti (Ip-sill-ann-tee) is home to Eastern Michigan University, was originally a trading post set up in 1809 and called Woodruff’s Grove after Major Thomas Woodruff. The name was later changed in 1829 in honor of Demetrius Ypsilanti—a hero in the Greek War of Independence from the Ottoman Empire. Called Ypsi (Ipsi) by locals.



Les Cheneaux Islands (Mackinac County)

The Les Cheneaux (Lay-Sh-NO) Islands — French for “The Channels” — are a group of 36 small islands, some inhabited, along 12 miles of Lake Huron shoreline on the southeastern tip of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The islands are about 30 miles northeast of Mackinac Island and about 35 miles south of Sault Ste. Marie. The towns of Hessel & Cedarville are found in the Les Cheneaux Islands (referred to by the locals as “TheSnows”.

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Kitch-iti-Kipi

Kitch-iti-Kipi (Kitch-i-tee-ki-pee) is located in Palms Book State Park, six miles west of Manistique, in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. “The Big Spring” is Michigan’s largest freshwater spring at 200 feet across and 40 feet deep. Over 10,000 gallons a minute gush from fissures at a constant 45 degree Fahrenheit. Take a ride along the self-operatedobservation raft, for underwater views.



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Fort Gratiot (Port Huron, St. Clair County)

Fort Gratiot (Grah-Shut) was an American stockade fort in Port Huron - Saint Clair County, constructed by the Army in

1814 as an outpost to guard the juncture of the Saint Clair River and Lake Huron. The fort took the name of the

engineer supervising its construction, Charles Gratiot. Soldiers occupied Fort Gratiot until 1822 and then abandoned the fort. Fort Gratiot Lighthouse was constructed in 1829 and was Michigan’s first lighthouse (and is open for tours, 7 days a week).



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Sebewaing (Huron County)

Sebewaing (See-Ba-Wing) is a village in Huron County—known as the Sugar Beet Capital and home to the Michigan Sugar Company, the third largest beet sugar processor in the United States (producing an annual average of 1 billion+ pounds of sugar).Sebewaing hosts the annual Michigan Sugar Festival in celebration of this heritage.



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Tahquamenon Falls (Upper Peninsula)

Tahquamenon (Tah-Quam-En-Nom – rhymes with phenomenon) is found within Tahquamenon Falls State Park, between Newberry and Paradise. on the Tahquamenon River. The upper falls are more than 200 feet across and with a drop of 48 feet. The river drains as much as 50,000 US gallons of water per second in the spring, making it the third most voluminous vertical waterfall east of the Mississippi River.



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Topinabee (Cheboygan County)

Topinabee (Top-in-a-Bee) is known as “The Jewel of the North” and was founded in 1881 after H.H. Pike built a resort hotel here along the shores of Mullett Lake. He named the town after Potawatomi Chief Topinabee. The area is located along the Inland Waterway, which encompasses four inland lakes (Crooked, Pickeral, Burt and Mullett) and the Cheboygan River, traveling 48 miles before reaching Lake Huron.



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Ocqueoc (Presque Isle County)

Ocqueoc (Ah-Key-Ock) Township is a township of Presque Isle County, named after the Ocqueoc River. The highlight of this location is Ocqueoc Falls, which is the largest waterfall in the Lower Peninsula. In addition, there is access to the Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway, which includes loop lengths from six miles to three miles; the trail is suitable for hiking, cross country skiing, and mountain biking. The township has a total area of 52.6 square miles, of which only 0.3 square mile is water.



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Presque Isle (Township, Lighthouse)

Presque Isle (Presk-Isle) is a small unincorporated community within the township of the same name, located near the shore of Lake Huron. It is about 15 miles north of Alpena and 15 miles south of Rogers City, and is French for “Peninsula” or "almost an island.” The infamous "haunted" Old Presque Isle Lighthouse is located near this settlement and is open to the public. The New Presque Isle Lighthouse (also believed to house a ghost or two) was built in 1870.



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15 places in Michigan with hard to pronounce names