PETOSKEY — On June 28, 1965, Gov. George Romney signed a bill naming the Petoskey stone as Michigan’s official state stone.
The stone, which is actually fossilized coral, remains one of Michigan’s most well-known icons. People search Lake Michigan shorelines each summer hoping to spot its distinctive honeycomb pattern. Gift shops sport Petoskey stone magnets, stickers and jewelry. One even found its way to the desk of President Barack Obama, where he was photographed with it in 2013.
Nowhere is it easier to find a Petoskey stone than in Petoskey itself. Both the stone and city get their names from the Odawa Chief Ignatius Petosega.
“You can only really find the Petoskey stones here in Northern Michigan on Little Traverse Bay,” said Ella Johnson, marketing and social media manager at Grandpa Shorter’s gift shop in downtown Petoskey.
At Grandpa Shorter’s, you can find Petoskey stone knives, wine stoppers, earrings, puzzles and more. Johnson said selling Petoskey stones and related items is a “very big” part of the business.
“That has been one of our top sellers and one of our bread-and-butter items since we opened in 1946 here,” she said. “Lots of people come here when they are unsuccessful down at the beach, so we can hook them up with their Petoskey stone to go home with.”
To celebrate the Petoskey stone’s 60th anniversary as Michigan’s state stone, Grandpa Shorter’s threw a birthday party complete with cake and streamers on Saturday, June 28.
“It’s more than just a cool rock to us, it’s a symbol of our state’s natural history, beauty and resilience, just like the people who live here,” Johnson said as people gathered around for cake.
What is a Petoskey stone?
A Petoskey stone is a fossilized coral that is over 350 million years old. According to michigan.gov, this specific coral fossil is found only in the rock strata known as the Alpena Limestone, which is a mixture of limestones and shales. The outcrops of these rocks are restricted to the Little Traverse Bay area near Petoskey.
The fossil is part of the genus Hexagonaria, and can be distinguished by its hexagonal or honeycomb-like pattern with a dark “eye” in the center.
Tips for rock hunting
If you’re looking for Petoskey stones, it’s easier to find them when they are wet. That makes their distinct pattern show more easily.
So, you can search for them in the surf, or bring a spray bottle to wet down dry rocks. Or, you can brave the rain and let nature show you where the Petoskey stones are.
The stones can be found along shorelines, but are also commonly found in places like gravel pits.
People usually agree that spring is the best time to hunt, as winter waves and ice have pushed new stones toward shore.
Some people might confuse the related Charlevoix stone for a Petoskey stone at first, but a Charlevoix stone has a smaller and tighter pattern.
People should also be cautious about how much stone they harvest and where they take it from. It is against the law to remove more than 25 pounds of materials from state lands, a law that someone ran afoul of in 2015 when they removed a 93-pound Petoskey stone from Lake Michigan.
— Contact Jillian Fellows at jfellows@petoskeynews.com.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Petoskey stone marks 60th anniversary as Michigan’s state stone
Reporting by Jillian Fellows, The Petoskey News-Review / The Petoskey News-Review
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
