 The Odawa and Ojibwe lived throughout northern Michigan prior to European colonization.European-American settlement of Charlevoix was initially by fishermen, who were there by 1852.Soon after its formation in the 1850s, the residents of Charlevoix entered into a short-lived conflict with Jesse Strang, leader and namesake of the Strangite Mormons, and then self-proclaimed 'king' of Beaver Island.