News History & Fun in Michigan
The picture post on our sister site about the huge dock in Forrestville gives rise to the question. Why did they name the boathouse the Iron Chief? A little exploring showed that there indeed was a ship with this unusual name but she was not made out of iron. Today, she lays in over a hundred feet of water off the shore of the Grindstone City in the Thumb Area Bottomland Preserve
The Coast Guard Station at Harbor Beach, originally built in 1910 and relocated in 1935, served as a training facility during WWII before closing in 1987. Despite preservation efforts, the station was demolished in 2004. It played a significant role in the Great Lakes waterway system and local maritime history.
In spring, the winter logging operations ended, and the long run to the sawmill began. In this picture, two men, called River Hogs, worked to keep the logs moving along the Pigeon River to the sawmill in Caseville. The work took skill and was dangerous. River Hogs were paid up to $3.50 per day.
The idea of straw bale gardening from a book by Joel Karsten. Joel comes to us from Minnesota where the growing season is incredibly short and the soil tough to cultivate.
Jacob Parkhurst was born in 1771. During his youth, his family lived in West Virginia he and traveled extensively into the Northwest Territory in the Ohio River Valley. This is his adventures told in his own words.
In 1831, two 26-year-old, French aristocrats, Alexis De Tocqueville, and Gustave de Beaumont, decided to strike out, in what today’s terms, would be the ultimate road trip. Namely, traveling overland from Detroit, to the last “white” settlement in the Northwest Territories, to Saginaw Michigan.
If you’re looking for things to do in Detroit, take a short road trip up M-25. The Port Sanilac Lighthouse was built in 1886 on the eastern shore of Michigan’s Thumb. This beautiful light serves the 60-mile shore between Fort Gratiot and Harbor Beach Light.
With over 35,000 islands, the salt and shark-free Great Lakes have some of the most inviting and unique chances for island exploring anywhere in the world. Some of these magnificent island destinations are only accessible by boat or float plane, while others offer regularly scheduled ferry service. Here are six choice island destinations to explore.
