Why Doesn’t This Huge Island Belong to Minnesota?

It's one of the biggest islands in the entire U.S. and it's closer to Minnesota than any other state. In fact, it's only 18 miles away at its shortest distance, yet it's part of... Michigan? What gives?

As it turns out, Benjamin Franklin is partially to blame.

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Welcome to the Stunning, Isle Royale

If you've never had the privilege, Isle Royale is one of the most stunning and beautiful pieces of land in the United States. Located in the northern part of Lake Superior, the island is about 45 miles long and 9 miles wide, giving the local moose and gray wolves plenty of room to play their eternal game of "hide and seek".

As mentioned, the island is shockingly close to Minnesota, just 18 miles by boat at its shortest distance. In fact, it's much closer to the North Star State than the state it actually belongs to, Michigan. The island is over twice as far to the Wolverine State (55 miles). So, why does Isle Royale belong to Michigan and not Minnesota? And what, on earth, does it have to do with Benjamin Franklin?

So, since it's much closer to Minnesota than Michigan, why isn't Isle Royale just part of Minnesota? The short answer? The treaty of Paris.

Signed in September of 1783, the Treaty of Paris officially ended the American Revolutionary War, making the United States its own country. Benjamin Franklin (among others) traveled to France for the negotiations and through painstaking effort, hammered out a deal with the British.

At the time (and for the next 80 years), Canada was still a part of the British Empire. Isle Royale was one of the many boundaries made in the treaty. While Isle Royale officially became a piece of the United States after the treaty, it was initially part of the Chippewa tribe's territory. Eventually, that area was annexed to the Michigan territory, which finally became a state in 1837.

At the time, Minnesota wasn't even a thought in the cartographers eye. It wouldn't become a state until many years later in 1858.

So, why isn't Isle Royale part of Minnesota instead of Michigan? Timing. Had it been an organized territory at the time, there's a very good chance it would be. You know what they say, timing is everything, right?