Sugar Island Almost Became The United Nations Headquarters
A Michigan island almost became the home of the headquarters of the United Nations after World War II.
The headquarters, which reside inside Manhattan, was almost in Michigan, as it was suggested and considered to reside on the 33,000-acre island that sits in the St. Marys River between the United States and Canada, Sugar Island, which is property of Michigan.
Recently, on the Original Michigan Facebook group, a Michigan resident shared this interesting piece of history that many may not know about:
In the aftermath of World War II, Sugar Island was proposed as a permanent home for the new international body. The idea emerged in 1945, when the world was searching for symbols of peace that could outlast the war that had just ended. The proposal was led by Chase Osborn, a former governor of Michigan and the only one to come from the Upper Peninsula. Along with his wife, Stellanova, Osborn imagined the island as neutral ground for global diplomacy.
The island itself is 50 mi², and when the proposal was originally sent in, they suggested renaming it International Island.
But it was only one of many places that were considered to be the site for the headquarters of the UN. Other places included in Niagara Falls, San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Boston.
Ultimately, they decided that it was either going to be New York or Boston, after Michigan was rejected in January 1946. It would have been a great location for the building and for the United Nations to be headquartered, because of its position on the map.
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