Stag Island
The quiet cottage island visible in the St. Clair River near Corunna was once one of the area's busiest summer destinations, reached by excursion steamers and filled with hotels, dancing and recreation.
From river island to summer resort
Stag Island was named for the deer once associated with it. By the late nineteenth century, passenger steamers had made river excursions a popular form of recreation. Its position between the Canadian and American shores made the island a natural stop.
Around 1890, Nelson Mills of Marysville began developing Stag Island as a resort. Historical records describe cottages, a hotel, a dining hall, a dance pavilion and other recreational facilities. Visitors arrived by steamer to spend summer days boating, fishing, bathing and socializing on the river.
Getting there was part of the adventure
Before family car trips became ordinary, excursion boats such as the Tashmoo and Greyhound carried passengers along the St. Clair River. In 1900, a steam yacht operated by the David family also transported visitors between Corunna and Stag Island.
The David brothers added a tintype photography business for passengers and offered small excursions up Talfourd Creek. The Moore Museum records one especially memorable local tale: passengers were promised a look at rare albino turtles until someone scraped white paint from one of the turtles.
A short timeline
Why the resort faded
As automobiles became the preferred way to travel, river excursions declined. Without the same stream of steamer passengers, the resort era gradually ended. Stag Island remained a summer community, but its grand public-resort identity became part of local history.
More than a resort story
The island's history reaches far beyond its hotels and steamers. Its earlier land history is tied to the Chippewa of the St. Clair River and Treaty 29. Including that history makes the island's story more complete and avoids beginning its past only when resort development started.