News History & Fun in Michigan
We examine stories and events that shaped the history of the Upper Thumb and Michigan. While we focus on the Thumb region, other Great Lakes historical events are covered. Major events include the lumbering era and the 1871 and 1881 great fires. We cover major pioneers and personalities that shaped the region. To hear many of our best stories, visit and subscribe to our Podcast, “The End of the Road in Michigan.”
Our best Michigan history posts are found below.
Northern Michigan is preparing for a powerful late-season winter storm that could bring 1 to 3 feet of snow, ice accumulation, and wind gusts up to 60 mph, according to multiple warnings issued by the National Weather Service. The storm is …
Railroads built Reed City. Lumber sustained it. Then a massive oil well briefly turned the town into national news. This story traces the surprising history of Reed City Michigan.
Learn how a remote Michigan town went from logging outpost to global arts mecca. A 1917 state park purchase between two lakes gave rise to the National Music Camp and Interlochen Arts Academy.
Brown City began as a railroad station in 1879 and quickly grew into a farm and shipping hub for Michigan’s Thumb region. Railroads, grain elevators, and later motorhome manufacturing shaped the town’s unusual history.
Fenton was more than a lake stop. Rail lines, cement plants, and one 1914 factory fire shaped the town’s early years. Here are the scenes that explain what changed—and what stayed.
St. Johns, Michigan, has long been the place in Clinton County where the official business gets done. It is the county seat, and for much of the late 1800s and early 1900s, it was also a hub of commerce—a place where …
These early postcards capture Cheboygan when the riverfront did the heavy lifting. Steamships tied up at the dock, a canning plant and paper mill hummed nearby, and Main Street stayed crowded day after day. It’s a snapshot of a town built to move goods, not commuters.
Learn how St. Helen, Michigan transformed from a bustling lumber town into a peaceful lake community and even the boyhood home of Charlton Heston.
