This cache is part of the Emmet County History Quest Geo-Trail. When discovering the historic places in Emmet County as you travel from cache to cache, you will need to answer a specific question on your passport. Information and the passport can be downloaded from the Emmet County web site http://www.emmetcounty.org/geocache/
Once you have completed 20 of the caches in this tour, take your passport to Emmet County Building, Suite 178 or mail the passport to Beth Piehl, Emmet County Building, Suite 178, 200 Division St., Petoskey, MI 49770 to receive a collectable souvenir tag for this series.
American written history tells us that John McAlpine and his Native American wife lived on McGulpin Point in the 1780s. After the turbulence of the Revolutionary War, the land was surveyed for the new United States of America by Aaron Greeley and ownership was recorded. John McAlpine’s son and heir, Patrick McGulpin, was given the patent on this land and holds the first recorded deed in Emmet County, Michigan in 1811.The historic McGulpin Point Lighthouse, owned by Emmet County, protected shipping on the Straits of Mackinac against storms, fog, and rock between 1869 and 1909, when Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse became operational. This lighthouse was in private ownership for nearly 100 years, during which time the historic integrity of the building was not changed. The lighthouse was relit as an active aid-to-navigation on May 30, 2009. Admission is by donation and for hours check the web site: http://www.emmetcounty.org/mcgulpin/