A Brief History of St James Church

      The first Episcopal service held in Cheboygan was in 1874.  The service was arranged by Capt. Leslie Smith, Commandant of the military garrison at Fort Mackinac on Mackinac Island, and the Rev. William Stonex, the Rector of Trinity Church on the Island.  Stonex was also the chaplain of the military garrison.  The unlikely pair, with some other soldiers and civilians crossed the ice in February 1874 to hold the first Episcopal service in Cheboygan.

      It was not until 1880 that the parish of St James was established and a church was built about three blocks south of its present location.

Capt. Leslie Smith, Commandant of Fort Mackinac.

      The photo to the right was taken just before the Church was moved to its current location.  Notice how much the tree in front of the Church had grown in 20 years.

      In the early 1900, the church was moved by rolling it on logs to its present location.  In 1968 the current narthex (entrance space) was added to the building.

      The church reached it high point of membership in the 1960s.  Our current priest-in-charge is the twentieth priest to serve the Episcopal congregation in Cheboygan.