Beaver Island ArchiveA primary-source archive & encyclopedia45°40′N 85°33′W · Lake Michigan
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Bay

McCauley Bay

Draft — sources verified, prose evolving

Locator map: McCauley Bay highlighted within the Beaver Island archipelago
Locator plate © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0); depths NOAA; names USGS GNIS. How the plates are drawn.
TypeBay
Coordinates45.6006° N, 85.5054° WGoogle MapsDownload KML
WithinBeaver Island
ErasModern era
On this page
Locator map: McCauley Bay highlighted within the Beaver Island archipelago
Locator plate © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0); depths NOAA; names USGS GNIS. How the plates are drawn.
BayGNIS 631823
Coordinates
45.6006° N, 85.5054° WGoogle MapsDownload KML
Eras
Modern era
Concepts
toponymy
Within
Beaver Island
Media
Beaver Island History Map, 1978 revision · Plat of Big Beaver Island, 1901 · Plat of the south end of Beaver Island, 1930s

Summary

USGS GNIS identifies McCauley Bay as a bay. The 2023 Beaver Island Master Plan also labels “McCauley’s Bay” on its map of island places. A later transcription of historical island news says prospects were good for a shingle mill at “Pete McCauley’s bay,” independently connecting the bay with a Pete McCauley. The 1978 Historical Map calls the namesake “Black Pete” McCauley, and a later forum family-history thread supplies a detailed but unresolved genealogy lead. No independent source read here documents the formal naming event or confirms every genealogical claim.

Open questions

  • Who was Pete McCauley, and does any civil or family record document the nickname “Black Pete”?
  • Do dated maps, newspapers, or property records document a landing, harbor, or other use?

Maps for this place

These Atlas plates provide regional context. They do not establish a precise boundary, current ownership, access right, operating status, or field condition.

  • EnvironmentSoils, wetlands, hydrography, and terrain
  • GeologyGeneralized geology and landforms
  • HydrologyMapped water and wetland context
  • AccessMapped routes, facilities, and protected areas
  • Land surveyPLSS geometry and historic GLO patent-location context

Sources

  1. GNIS feature 631823; feature class 'Bay'.
    federal · gnis · gnis_names
  2. Map label “McCauley's Bay.”
    internet_archive · beaver-island-master-plan-20231113
  3. Beaver Beacon, July 2008, historical-newspaper transcription.
    Reprints an older notice saying prospects were good for a shingle mill at “Pete McCauley’s bay.” It independently associates the bay with Pete McCauley but does not give the original issue date in the excerpt, the nickname “Black Pete,” or a formal naming account. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2008-07_Beaver-Beacon
  4. Described in this archive: Beaver Island History Map, 1978 revision.
    Labels the bay as named for “Black Pete” McCauley. No independent source located in this audit supplies the nickname.
  5. Jeff McCauley Norton, Colin Nackerman, and Bob Sramek, “Black Peter McCauley,” Beaver Island Forum, January 27, 2014–August 4, 2022.
    The thread began with a descendant seeking information and later included a Nackerman family response identifying Peter Edward “Black Pete” McCauley, an Arranmore origin, Beaver Island residence, a large family, and a claimed connection to the bay. The later post is a valuable family-history lead but contains unresolved date and relationship variants and should not replace civil, cemetery, land, or contemporary newspaper evidence.
    forum · www.beaverislandforum.com · 07 · t007169

Added 28 July 2026 · revised 10 August 2026. Recent changes

Cite this article

Beaver Island Archive, “McCauley Bay”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/places/mccauley-bay/, accessed [date], citing U.S. Geological Survey, Geographic Names Information System, Domestic Names (Michigan), retrieved 2026-07-28. (and 4 further sources listed on the page).

Last revised 2026-08-10. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.

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