Editing Petoskey, Michigan (section)

=== Passenger Pigeons ===
[[File:Petoskey, Michigan from the harbor (NBY 2798).jpg|thumb|left|Petoskey viewed from the harbor, circa 1900s]]

In the late 19th century, Petoskey was in the region of Northern Michigan where 50,000 passenger pigeon birds were killed daily in massive hunts, leading to their complete extinction in the early 20th century.<ref name="SI">{{cite web|url=http://www.si.edu/Encyclopedia_SI/nmnh/passpig.htm|author=Department of Vertebrate Zoology, [[National Museum of Natural History]] in cooperation with the Public Inquiry Mail Service|title=The Passenger Pigeon|publisher=[[Smithsonian Institution]]|date=March 2001|access-date=February 28, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313223001/http://www.si.edu/encyclopedia_Si/nmnh/passpig.htm|archive-date=March 13, 2012|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref> A state historical marker memorializes these events, including the last great nesting of the passenger pigeons at Crooked Lake in 1878.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ulala.org/P_Pigeon/Petosky.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010303160125/http://www.ulala.org/P_Pigeon/Petosky.html |url-status=usurped |archive-date=March 3, 2001 |title=Last Great Gathering of Passenger Pigeons, Crooked Lake Nesting Colony|location=Petoskey, Michigan |publisher=Michigan state historical marker|access-date=February 29, 2012}}</ref> One hunter was reputed to have personally killed "a million birds" and earned $60,000, the equivalent of $1 million today.<ref name="life">{{cite web |url=http://lifeofbirds.com/2007/01/06/was-martha-the-last-pigeon-de-passage/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009155102/http://lifeofbirds.com/2007/01/06/was-martha-the-last-pigeon-de-passage/ |archive-date=October 9, 2007 |publisher=Life of Birds website|title=Was Martha the last "Pigean de passage"? lifeofbirds.com |date=January 6, 2007 |access-date=February 29, 2012}} at [[Wayback Machine]]</ref>

Petoskey is noted for a high concentration of ancient fossil coral, now named [[Petoskey stone]]s, designated as the [[List of U.S. state minerals, rocks, stones and gemstones|state stone]] of Michigan.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Petoskey Stone |url=https://petoskeyarea.com/media/petoskey-stone/ |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=Petoskey Area |language=en-US}}</ref>

This city was the northern terminus of the [[Chicago and West Michigan Railway]].

With members descended from the numerous bands in northern Michigan, the [[Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians|Little Traverse Bay Band]] is a federally recognized tribe that has its headquarters at nearby [[Harbor Springs, Michigan]]. It also owns and operates a gaming casino in Petoskey.