Island History
Madeline Island is the largest of the Apostle Islands located in Lake Superior. It is fourteen miles long and three miles wide and is reached by a short ferry ride from Bayfield, which is in northern Wisconsin on the south shore of Lake Superior. The Island has an interesting history, having been settled by Ojibwa who arrived in the Chequamegon Bay region about 1490. Following French exploration in the early 17th century, Madeline Island became a magnet of missionary and fur-trade interests. In the late 18th century Chief White Crane decreed that the Island be called "Madeline" to commemorate his daughter Equaysayway's baptism and marriage to Michel Cadotte, partner in the North West Company.

Today the Island is home to approximately two hundred year-round residents. The summer population of over two thousand includes residents from across the nation. LaPointe is the only town on the Island and is comprised of a post office, bank, grocery store, shops, restaurants and the Marina. In 1997 the Chicago Tribune described LaPointe as "the best little town in the Midwest." The Island's treasures are its picturesque, natural beauty of wild flowers, woods, sandy beaches, wildlife and quaint summer cottages. Its relative isolation and atmosphere of effortless relaxation are conducive to reflective concentration necessary for musical accomplishment.