I thought I would share some of the history of my birthplace. As a child, I spent many hours collecting Petoskey stones. They were very numerous then. I moved to Texas when I was about 10 and have remained here and consider it my home, but the memories of my childhood and growing up in Petoskey will always be very vivid ones.

Petoskey was named for the Ottawa Chief, Pet-o-sega.

Legend and history are often intertwined. Such is the case with the Petoskey Stone. The name Petoskey Stone likely came about because it was found and sold as a souvenir from the Petoskey area. The name Petoskey appears to have originated late in the 18th century. Its roots stem from an Ottawa Indian legend.

According to legend, a descendant of French nobility named Antoine Carre visited what is now the Petoskey area and became a fur trader with the John Jacob Astor Fur Company. In time, he met and married an Ottawa Indian princess. Carre became known to the Indians as Neaatooshing. Eventually he was adopted by the tribe and was made chief.

In the spring of 1787, after having spent the winter near what is now Chicago, Chief Neaatooshing and his royal family started home. Enroute, the party camped on the banks of the Kalamazoo River. During the night, a son was born to the Chief. As the sun rose, its rays fell on the face of the new baby. Noting the glorious sunshine on his son's face, the Chief proclaimed, "His name shall be Petosegay (or Bedosegay, there are several versions). He shall become an important person. " The translation of the name is "rising sun," "rays of dawn," or "sunbeams of promise".

True to his father's prediction, Petosegay became an important person. He was a fur trader and merchant who acquired much land and wealth. His appearance was outstanding. His skin was smooth, his eyes sharp and deeply set, and he spoke English quite well. Ultimately, he married the young daughter of Chief Pokozeegun, a great Ottawa Chief from the northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan. They had two daughters and eight sons.

In the summer of 1873, just a few years before the death of Petosegay, a city came into being on his land along the bay at Bear Creek. The site was a field overgrown with June grass. Only a few nondescript buildings existed. The population was no more than 50 or 60. The city was named Petoskey, an English adaptation of Petosegay. Thus they honored someone who gave his land, name, and the heritage of "sunbeams of promise".

Today, Petoskey is a growing city with all of the comforts of modern life and an appreciation of the past. This is where Petoskey Stones are found. For those who look, Petoskey Stones are along the beaches, inland in gravel deposits, and sold in gift shops.

The most often asked question is, "What is a Petoskey Stone?" A Petoskey is a fossil colonial coral. These corals lived in warm shallow seas that covered Michigan during Devonian time, some 350 million years ago.

Almost a century after the founding of Petoskey, on June 28, 1965, Governor George Romney signed a bill that made the Petoskey Stone Michigan's official State Stone. It was fitting that Miss Ella Jane Petoskey, the only living grand-child of Chief Petosegay, was present at the formal signing. The legislation is very general. The bill simply states that the Petoskey Stone is the State Stone. The designation of Hexagonaria percarinata was made by Dr. Edwin C. Stumm in 1969. Dr. Stumm made this distinction based on his extensive knowledge of fossils.

This specific fossil coral is found only in the rock strata known as the Gravel Point Formation. The Gravel Point Formation is part of the Traverse Group of Devonian age. The Gravel Point Formation is a mixture of limestones and shales. The outcrops of these rocks are restricted to the Little Traverse Bay area near Petoskey.

The Gravel Point Formation is only part of the Devonian in Michigan. Devonian age rocks form the bedrock for much of the northern Lower Peninsula. Devonian rocks outcrop at less than three percent of the surface of the United States. Michigan's average is much higher. Much of what is known about the Devonian is interpreted from the fossil record.

At least seven different species of the genus Hexagonaria are found in Devonian rocks in Michigan. The Petoskey Stone family of corals are found in Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, New York, Canada, Germany, England, and even Asia. These corals are difficult to distinguish from each other on casual inspection. In order to tell these corals apart, you must become familiar with coral anatomy and the related terms.

Pleistocene glaciers (about two million years ago) plucked Petoskeys (and many other rocks) from the bedrock and spread them over Michigan and surrounding areas. This is why Petoskeys can be found in gravel pits and along our beautiful beaches far from the Petoskey area.

During Devonian time, Michigan was quite different. Geographically, what is now Michigan was near the equator. A warm shallow sea covered the State. This warm, sunny sea was an ideal habitat for marine life. Life forms were abundant and varied. Some would be easily recognized, others would not.

If you were to visit a tropical reef today, you would see a wide range of life forms. Some you would recognize; many would appear strange and unknown. A Devonian reef would have sheltered clams, cephalopods, corals, crinoids, trilobites, fish, and many other even stranger critters. During the Devonian, land plants were taking hold and primitive amphibians were also getting their start.

The process of plate tectonics explains that since Devonian time the continents have moved to new locations. The shape, size, and climate of the land masses have also changed. Related to this movement is the subsequent uplifting of Michigan. This caused the sea to vanish and dry land to form. The migration of the continent to the north resulted in a cooler climate as well.

Many people see their first Petoskey Stone in a polished form. Petoskeys are primarily calcite. However, quartz, pyrite, and other minerals could be present. The corals are found in limestone which can have a sizable amount of clay in it. Due to differences in hardness and ability to take a polish, impurities affect the final product. The possibilities of what can be created with Petoskeys are limited only by the imagination.