Drummond Township, Michigan Drummond Island
Civil township
Frank J. Sasso Township Hall
Location withinChippewa County
Drummond Township Location within the state of Michigan Show map of Michigan Drummond Township Location within the United States Show map of the United States
Coordinates:46°00′00″N83°40′00″W / 46.00000°N 83.66667°W /46.00000; -83.66667
Country	United States
State	Michigan
County	Chippewa
Established	1888
Government [1]
• Supervisor	Chad Cameron
• Clerk	Carolyn Havens
Area
• Total	248.99 sq mi (644.88 km2)
• Land	128.91 sq mi (333.88 km2)
• Water	20.09 sq mi (52.03 km2)
Elevation	810 ft (247 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	973
• Density	7.55/sq mi (2.92/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code(s)	49726 (Drummond Island)
Area code	906
FIPS code	26-23080[2]
GNIS feature ID	1626193[3]
Website	Official website

Drummond Township (/ˈdrʌmənd/DRUH-mənd) is acivil township ofChippewa County in the U.S. state ofMichigan. The population was 973 at the2020 census.

The township encompasses the largeDrummond Island and numerous smaller islands. Drummond Island is theseventh-largest lake island in the world. With an area of 134 sq mi (350 km²), it is also the third-largestlake island inLake Huron, behindManitoulin andSt. Joseph, and thefifth-largest island in thecontiguous United States, behindLong Island,Padre Island,Isle Royale andWhidbey Island.^[4]

M-134 extends from the mainland to run through the western portion of the island, connecting with the mainland via the Drummond Island Ferry, which runs between the island andDeTour Village.

On the east side of Drummond Island, theCanada–United States border passes through theFalse Detour Channel. On the other side of that channel, the CanadianCockburn Island separates Drummond from Manitoulin Island.

• Drummond (or Drummond Island) is anunincorporated community onPotagannissing Bay on the northwest side of the island at46°01′12″N83°43′52″W / 46.02000°N 83.73111°W /46.02000; -83.73111.^[5] It was named after British commanderGordon Drummond, who built a fort here after theWar of 1812. He abandoned the fort in 1822 when it was apparent that the island would become American territory. By the 1850s, the area was settled by Mormon missionaries and Native Americans. A post office in Drummond began operating on February 9, 1881. The post office was renamed Drummond Island on July 1, 1953.^[6] The Drummond Island 49726 ZIP Code serves the entirety of Drummond Township.^[7][8]
• Johnswood (also spelled as Johns Wood) is an unincorporated community on the southern coast of the island at45°57′03″N83°37′20″W / 45.9508543°N 83.6222194°W /45.9508543; -83.6222194.^[9] The community was settled around 1905 when the Kreetan Company fromTonawanda, New York took over the area sawmills. It was originally named Scammon's Cove after the small bay. A post office began operating under the name Kreetan on September 7, 1905. The post office was renamed Johns Wood when Harold Johnson became postmaster on March 19, 1914. The post office remained in operation until 1927.^[10]
• Lincoln is an unincorporated community near the center of Drummond Island at45°58′26″N83°39′23″W / 45.9739100°N 83.6563878°W /45.9739100; -83.6563878.^[11]
• Maxton is an unincorporated community located at46°02′02″N83°40′33″W / 46.0339101°N 83.6758339°W /46.0339101; -83.6758339.^[12] The community was established by the Cleveland Cedar Company in 1904 as a sawmill settlement along Potagannissing Bay a few miles northeast of Drummond. For the next three decades, several other sawmills began operating here.^[13] A post office in Maxton operated from 1904 until 1950.^[14]

The township and island are named afterGordon Drummond, the firstCanadian-born officer to command the military and the civil government of British Canada. AsLieutenant Governor ofUpper Canada, Drummond distinguished himself on theNiagara front in theWar of 1812 and later becameGovernor-General and Administrator of Canada.^[15] TheOjibwe name for the island isBootaagan-minising (syncope asBootaagan-mnising^[16] recorded as "Potagannissing"),^[17] meaning "at the Mill Island".^[16]

The history of Drummond Island dates back centuries, but more recent history of the past 200 years relates to the British occupation of the island during and after theWar of 1812. The island was the last British outpost on American soil following theTreaty of Ghent (1814). On October 6, 1828, orders were sent out from Quebec that the post would be handed over, and the island was officially occupied by United States on November 14, 1828.^[18] Drummond Island was originally recorded by Americans as First Manitoulin Island and Drummond's Island.^[4]

British and American negotiators to the 1814 Treaty of Ghent ended theWar of 1812 by offering no territorial concessions to either side, but returned to those boundaries set by theTreaty of Paris of 1783. To resolve territorial claims that had precipitated the war, negotiators atGhent established a process whereby commissioners would survey the boundary to determine the borders envisioned in the original treaty.

Beginning in August 1820, two teams of surveyors, including British explorer and cartographerDavid Thompson, mapped the area ofSt. Joseph Island, Drummond Island, and Lesser and Greater Manitou Islands (todayCockburn and Manitoulin islands). Mapping this corner ofLake Huron was a challenge given that little was known about the shores and depths of the channels between the islands. The agent for the United States survey team, MajorJoseph Delafield, complained, "No map that I have seen has any truth as it respects the position of Drummond's or the other islands aboutSt. Marys. We entered this bay without a pilot, but are told we cannot proceed up river without one."^[19]

Based on the surveys taken in the summers of 1820 and 1821, and guided by the commission's two principles that the boundary would not divide islands and that the number of islands would be apportioned equally between the two countries,^[19] in November and December 1821, commissioners agreed to grant St. Joseph Island and Cockburn Island to Canada and Drummond Island, which lies between them, to the United States.^[19]

According to theUS Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 249.0 square miles (644.9 km²), of which 128.9 square miles (333.9 km²) is land and 120.1 square miles (311.0 km²), or 48.23%, is water.^[20] The island is dominated by forest, with cliffs on the eastern side, which are part of theNiagara Escarpment.

Most of the island, approximately2⁄3, is state land owned by the state of Michigan.^[21] The island hosts a rare environment known asalvar, a grassy limestone plain found only in a few places worldwide.^[22] Drummond Island is the largest island in theManitoulin Island chain to be part of the United States.

Drummond Township is one of only seven municipalities in the state of Michigan to consist entirely of islands, includingGrosse Ile Township,St. James Township,Bois Blanc Township,Mackinac Island,Peaine Township, andSugar Island Township.

• M-134 is the sole highway serving the island. The Drummond Island Ferry, operated by theEastern Upper Peninsula Transportation Authority, connects M-134 to the island fromDeTour Village. West of there, M-134 parallels the shore ofLake Huron, until it meetsI-75 nearSt. Ignace. It is one of threestate trunkline highways on islands in Michigan; the others beingM-154 onHarsens Island, andM-185 onMackinac Island.

In 2020, the township had a population of 973.

• List of populated islands of the Great Lakes
• Jasper conglomerate (Drummond Island puddingstone)
• Niagara Escarpment
• Gordon Drummond
• War of 1812
• Drummond Island Airport

• Romig, Walter (October 1, 1986) [1973].Michigan Place Names: The History of the Founding and the Naming of More Than Five Thousand Past and Present Michigan Communities (Paperback). Detroit, Michigan:Wayne State University Press. pp. 163, 294, 358.ISBN 978-0-8143-1838-6.

• Drummond Township, Michigan
• Drummond Island Tourism Association
• Kelley, J.G., (2009)Drummond Island Puddingstone. Drummond Island Tourism Association, Drummond Island, Michigan.

• Townships in Michigan
• Townships in Chippewa County, Michigan
• Populated places established in 1888
• 1888 establishments in Michigan
• Populated places on Lake Huron in the United States
• Niagara Escarpment

• Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas
• Use mdy dates from October 2018
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Coordinates on Wikidata