The ruins of Michigan 27th Governor’s estate can be found on an Island in the Upper Peninsula. Sugar Island is located in the St Mary’s River east of Sault St Marie. Duck Island is a small island that is separated from Sugar Island by a channel and Duck Lake. Chase Osborn lived on the island until his death in 1949. He was born in 1860 in Indiana and started his career in the newspaper business. He married his first wife Lillian G. Jones in 1881 and soon after moved to Sault Ste. Marie. In 1889, he was appointed Postmaster of Sault Ste. Marie and, in 1895, the state’s Fish and Game Warden.
Osborn built an estate on Duck Island where he built two log cabins. The larger cabin he called Big Duck and the smaller one was called Little Duck. Between them was a concrete library that held his vast collection of books.
Big Duck cabin ruins
Little Duck cabin ruins
Osborn’s library
In 1910, Osborn was elected the 27th Governor of Michigan and served from 1911 to 1913. He was the only governor from the Upper Peninsula and he proposed building a bridge across the Straits of Mackinac to President Roosevelt in 1939.
Near the riverbank is a building built with logs. I am not exactly sure what this was used for. I seen it stated that Chase had a separate bedroom made with logs. He also slept outside on a bed of pine bows. I am not sure if the log structure was his sleeping quarters or some sort of shed.
Chase Osborne became a member of the University of Michigan Board of Regents and served from 1908 to 1911. In 1927 he donated his property on Duck Lake and Sugar Island to the U of M. He made arrangements to be able to live at his estate. He had thousands of books in his library and they were given to the University of Michigan and Lake Superior State University.
Chase and Stellanova’s gravesite
South of the cabin is a large rock used as a grave marker for Chase and his second wife Stellanova. Looking at the dates Chase was born in 1860 and stallanova was born in 1894. Osborn met Stellanova Brunt in 1924, and she took a job as his researcher and secretary. Chase and Lillian Osborn legally adopted 37-year-old Stellanova, and she changed her last name to Osborn. After his wife Lillian died, Stellanova’s adoption was annulled. Chase was 89 and Stellanova was 54 when they were married. Chase died two weeks later at his home in Georgia. His remains were transported to Duck Island and they were buried under a massive rock. Stellanova died in 1989 and was buried with her husband on Duck Island. (I am thinking that Chase married Stellanova so she could get his survivor death benefits as his wife that she would not have received as his daughter.)
Osborn’s property and estate is now the Chase S. Osborn Preserve and used for research and instruction in natural sciences and forestry. When I visited the main gate on S. Homestead Road was open. I parked near the closed gate for Duck Lake. The sign next to it read that no camping or dumping was allowed but I did not see anything about trespassing so I assume it is open to the public. It is about a mile hike to the estate. It was an easy hike without any steep hills to climb. If you visit please be respectful so that it remains accessible. you can see it on google maps at the coordinates here 46.35820957281242, -84.13571232907873
If you love exploring the Upper Peninsula, I hope you will take a look at my Lost In Michigan’s Upper Peninsula book HERE
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