Makinak is the Cree word for, ‘good trail’. The early settlers kept many of the original names that had been given by the Indigenous. When the newly established railroad came to Makinak, other nearby townspeople traveled there for mail and supplies. Makinak was a busy hub for a couple of decades with a Post Office and School, a Creamery, a Hardware Store, Livery Stable, Harness Maker, Rooming House and Trading Post. The first phones in the area were installed in 1912.
The Post office opened on August 1, 1897.

Historical information courtesy of Phillis Wheaton