Hubbard’s Annex to the National Park/Hubbard´s Annex to the National Park

Gurdon Hubbard (1802-1886) came to Mackinac Island from New England in 1818 to work in the fur trade. His expanding businesses centered on Chicago, where in 1834 he was elected as a town trustee. In 1855 Hubbard purchased this property, building a cottage in 1870. In 1882, Hubbard divided his land into parcels for a summer cottage community. At the time, much of the island was the nation’s second National Park. Hubbard´s Annex to the National Park Inspired by the City Beautiful Movement and the 1880s trend to create summer homes for wealthy urbanites eager to escape industrial cities, the Annex was among the first planned summer communities in Michigan. The cottages were built in a variety of styles along winding avenues that surrounded open private parks. Many of the early cottages in the Carpenter Gothic style were constructed by Charles W. Caskey.