The Apostle Islands National Lakeshore is a chain of 22 islands in Lake Superior, off the shores of Bayfield, Wisconsin. It is believed that the name came when the French explorers saw twelve of the islands from the mainland, and named them for the twelve apostles. Madeline Island is the only one that is not part of the National Park.
The islands are a result of glaciers that covered North America. They used to be part of the mainland, but when the glaciers melted, waves from Lake Superior caused erosion that formed the islands. They are mostly made of sandstone.
The Ojibwe migration from the east brought tribal members to Madeline Island in the 1600's. In 1855, the U.S government placed the Ojibwe on reservations called Bad River and Red Cliff, east of Ashland and north of Bayfield, Wisconsin.
The School District of Bayfield serves students from Red Cliff Wisconsin.
In 1963, Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson (founder of Earth Day) convinced President John F. Kennedy to come to Ashland to see the Apostle Islands. President
Kennedy agreed that they were a national treasure that should be preserved for
all. In 1970, the Apostle Islands became a National Park.