Sacred Rock is an Engadine-dolomite boulder, now 20 feet long by 8 feet wide and 6 feet high, on the shore of Lake Huron in Northern Lower Michigan. It is located 6 miles north of Rogers City, Michigan, approximately 0.5 miles north of P.H. Hoeft State Park. Located in front of private cottages, the best way to reach the site is by turning east off of U.S. 23 onto State Park Road (just north of the state park) and parking where the road ends at the lake, then walking 1/2 mile north along the beach to the rock. Usually the rock is found partly buried in the sand, but when water levels are at their highest levels the rock can be partly or fully submerged in the lake.
History
Presque Isle County was inhabited by migratory Native Americans who used the area for hunting and fishing. The rock is located midway between the Ocqueoc River and Swan River, and served as a key boundary marker for competing tribes, as well as an altar for animal sacrifices. It was probably deposited by the last receding glaciers which formed the Great Lakes, and likely originated from the Lake Superior region of Canada. The rock is now a recognized tourism site, and listed as a historic & archaeological site by the Northeast Michigan Regional Planning Commission.
Folklore
Frederick Denny Larke wrote the following in 1909: "The history of the Sacred Rock is this: Ages ago, where the rock now stands, was the boundary line between the hunting grounds of two Indian tribes; the chief of the one was exceedingly aggressive and frequently trespassed upon the preserves of the neighboring tribe, and, in so doing, had caused much trouble and bloodshed to follow these excursions. At last the chiefs of the two tribes met, when the one as usual was trespassing over the border, and an altercation ensued which would probably have again resulted in a bloody war between the conflicting tribes, but Kitchie Manitou, the Great Spirit, who was up Lake Superior at the time, became disgusted with both of them, seized hold of the Sacred Rock and hurled it down, crushing both the chiefs beneath its immense weight, which was so great, that the banks above the beach have been sliding and trembling ever since. Hence the Rock became an object of worship to the Indian races."
Others say that when it rains, the blood from the dead Indian chiefs can be seen on the rock.
See also
References
- Larke, Frederick Denny. "Sections of Presque Isle County Claimed to Abound in Indian Lore". Calcite Screenings, August, 1929. Published by the Michigan Limestone and Chemical Company. Page 19. Accessed at: https://issuu.com/rewar1/docs/1929
- Discover Heritage Route 23 website http://www.us23heritageroute.org/presque_isle.asp?ait=av&aid=429
- Michigan Miles, P.H. Hoeft State Park website: http://www.michiganmiles.com/hoeft/
- Recreation Plan for Presque Isle County, Michigan 2017-2021. Page 19 of Chapter 3 (3-19). Prepared for the Presque Isle County Planning Commission. Viewed at: http://www.discovernortheastmichigan.org/media/assets/media/presque_isle_county_rec_plan_draft_dec_2016.pdf
- Northeast Michigan Regional Planning and Development Commission. Shoreland Management for Lake Huron and Northeast Michigan, page 67 & 108. Accessed via: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CZIC-ht168-m5-s56-1976/html/CZIC-ht168-m5-s56-1976.htm
- Hinsdale, Wilbert B. Spirit Stones. Selections from Papers of the Michigan Academy of Science, Arts and Letters--Vol. 14 – Page 3-4. Viewed at http://www.michigan.gov/documents/deq/GIMDL-MASALV14_302474_7.pdf
- Powers, Perry F. A History of Northern Michigan and Its People. Page 481. Accessed via University of Michigan Michigan County Histories and Atlases website: http://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/micounty/BAC9250.0001.001?rgn=main;view=fulltext
- Haltiner, Robert E. Stories the Red People Have Told and More. Published by the author, 2002. ASIN: B01MT391IN. Referenced on Visit Alpena website, "Top 10 Haunted Places", http://www.visitalpena.com/top-10-haunted-places-urban-legends-alpena/
45°28′31″N 83°53′47″W / 45.47526°N 83.89646°W / 45.47526; -83.89646
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