THE MACKINAC ISLAND CONNECTION – FRANK B. TAYLOR’S FIRST PROFESSIONAL GLACIAL PUBLICATION IN 1892

Students of the history of glacial geology in the U.S. may be surprised to learn that Frank B. Taylor’s first professional publication was a study of the old shorelines on Mackinac Island, published in 1892. Mackinac Island is 350 miles north of Fort Wayne. Considering that Taylor’s Fort Wayne home was located near the outlet for glacial Lake Maumee, or that Taylor was trained in glacial geology by Davis at Harvard, or even that he spent nearly 6 years recuperating at various spas in the Finger Lakes area, it might be expected that his first paper might reflect the geology of those areas.

Taylor’s interest in Mackinac Island likely began with his father’s purchase of lot 28 on the recently opened East Bluff on the Island in 1890. In 1891, “Restview”, the Taylor Cottage, was completed as one of ten new homes built between 1890-1892 for wealthy families from Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Mackinac Island was very popular because its summer weather was so much cooler than Fort Wayne or Chicago.

For Frank B. Taylor Mackinac Island was an almost perfect training ground for a budding glacial geologist. The topographic profile of the Island shows clearly the Algonquin shorelines surrounding the Ancient Island (highest point 904’) and the Sugarloaf stack, dated about 11,000 years BP, a succession of lower intermediate beaches, including the Battlefield Beach, and finally the Nipissing wave terrace and cliffs, dated about 3500 years BP. Mackinac Island is the highest land in the immediate vicinity, including the adjoining lands of both peninsulas, so the shoreline record is the most complete.

Taylor’s 1892 article was published in American Journal of Science, and received a good deal of attention. Gilbert wrote an encouraging note to Taylor in June of 1892, and complimented him on his valuable contribution, noting that few geologists were able to give shorelines adequate study, and there were too many opposing interpretations.

Taylor continued to use the cottage on Mackinac Island for further study. In 1907, he invited Goldthwait to use the cottage as a base of operation, and he even provided meals. Goldthwait leveled the Island beaches with a Wye level under Taylor’s direction, providing data to corroborate Taylor’s earlier aneroid readings. Goldthwait’s results were remarkably accurate and provided data for Monograph 53.