Legend of Leelanau

A memorable retelling of the story of a young girl who loved nature and the delights of childhood.

Although most people were afraid to enter the Spirit Wood because of the Pukwudjininees (tiny fairies), young Leelinau loved the Spirit Wood more than anything else and spent an increasing amount of time there climbing trees, playing with her animal friends, and escaping the chores and duties of home. Leelinau's concerned parents attempt to stop her from going into the forest, for they fear the fairies will keep her for good, but the pull of the Spirit Wood is too strong for the free-spirited girl.

The story of Leelinau was originally told by Jane Johnston Schoolcraft, daughter of a Scots-Irish fur trader father and an Ojibwe mother, in the mid 19th century and blends the popular Romanticism of the day with a Michigan setting. The name Leelanau, was submitted to the Michigan state legislator in 1840--although Leelanau County did not officially get its name until some twenty years later--by Jane's husband, Henry R. Schoolcraft, and likely has its basis in this tale.