Michigan’s 1st Mail Service and the Great Mackinac Island P.O. Robbery

Michigan's first mail service in the state was not one that today’s mail carriers could handle...or could anyone, for that matter. We have things so easy for us in the 2020s, that if we were to go back in time to the early-mid 1800s, we’d be crying for our mommies.

Even though that statement could apply to living in general, I’m basically referring to the mail service in northern Michigan in the first half of the 1800s. All Michigan residents who lived in the north got their mail from just a sole person. One guy, one mailman, one source of getting mail.

The service originated on Mackinac Island. The island had one post office with one man whose duty it was to make sure everyone who lived on the island, in the Upper Peninsula, and into the northern part of the mitten got their mail – not every day, that would be impossible, but just a few times a year.

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That man was Lewis Miller, who lived on Mackinac Island. If you needed a letter sent, it was up to you to get to the island and hand deliver your outgoing mail to Lewis. Why this man? Why give mail to this guy? Because he made occasional trips off the island to get more food, dry goods, hardware, etc.....and since he was going to be traveling, why not let him mail everyone’s letters and parcels? Whether he made the offer or if he got stuck with this task is unknown.

Mackinac Island’s first post office finally opened on April 14, 1819.....and it took another 74 years before it was robbed by pirates.

According to the Mackinac Island Dockporters Association page on Facebook, the thievery took place in September 1893 when three men entered the post office, ended up fleeing with over $2,000 (the equivalent today of $70,000), and made their getaway in a sailboat. The island sheriff and two deputies pursued the three men for approximately 50 miles until they caught up with them and told them to give themselves up. But the thieves weren’t gonna give up that easily. Just like in a TV western, both sides started shooting; one robber and one deputy were hit and finally two of the three men surrendered...but it didn’t take.

The third robber had been hiding in the boat when he came out into the open with two loaded guns. To make matters worse, the sheriff’s guns were empty of ammunition. He had no choice but to let the other two go. The robbers faded away, somewhere within the Great Lakes and were never caught – well, except for one of ‘em...the other two were never seen again. Even a group of soldiers from Fort Mackinac failed to locate the culprits...or their sailboat.