to the southwest of that island and then to Little Neebish in the United States. For a time it was named for him, as Rains Island. A private saw mill operated on the island near the creek between Big Neebish and Little Neebish, from 1877 to 1893. At its peak, it employed 150 men. The island had its own telephone service, the Neebish Mutual Telephone Company, beginning in 1924. Islanders did not gain electrical power until the mid-1950s. In 1933, a privately run car ferry began operating to provide connections between Michigan and the west side of the island. In 1980, this service was taken over by the Eastern Upper Peninsula Transportation Authority. Construction of the West Neebish Channel The completion in 1855 of the first ship canal and locks at Sault Ste. Marie (later known as the Soo Locks) enabled much larger ships to ply the St. Marys River. To accommodate them and to ease navigation, the American government dredged and dynamited limestone from the Munuscong Channel between Neebish and St. Joseph islands in 1856 and 1905. The absence of any alternate route resulted in both upbound and downbound traffic on the St. Marys River having to navigate the twisting narrows of the Munuscong Channel. On September 5, 1899, the steamer Douglass Houghton, downbound north of Sailors’ Encampment, collided with a barge it was towing and sank. The wreck blocked shipping for days in both directions. The "Houghton Blockade" as the incident became known, demonstrated the need for an alternate route along the west side of Neebish. With two channels, traffic could be separated between ships travelling upriver and downriver. In 1903 work to widen and deepen the channel between the island and the Michigan mainland began; the West Neebish Channel was opened to downriver ship traffic in 1908. In addition to deepening the channel, this work reduced the Neebish rapids that had characterized the west side of the island until that point. Geography The island of lies south of Sugar Island and to the east of Michigan's upper peninsula. The island consists of two parts known as "Big Neebish" and "Little Neebish." At one time the latter was also known as Rains Island. The latter, located southeast of the main island, is separated by a narrow and shallow creek known colloquially as 'the dark hole' or 'the black hole' by Neebish islanders. Four of the are state owned.