[7] The name is commonly thought to be a reference to either: (a) the paper birch, or more likely (b) the basswood, called "bois blanc" in other contexts.

[8] The basswood's white underbark was extensively used by Native Americans and French-speaking fur traders for cordage, including the sewing up of canoes and the manufacture of webbing for snowshoes.

Bois Blanc is in the traditional lands of the Mackinac Bands of Chippewa and Ottawa Indians.

[9] After extensive use as a source of kilned lime and firewood for Mackinac Island and other local frontier settlements, Bois Blanc was settled in the late 1800s as a summer resort community.

The township is located on the eastern end of the Straits of Mackinac directly north of the city of Cheboyan.

There were no families and 3.8% of the population living below the poverty line, including no under eighteens and 14.3% of those over 64.

A maintained county road extends from the island's northeast corner to the far western tip.

Commercial access to the island is provided by ferry connections with Cheboygan through a dock at Pointe aux Pins.