Finding Fun in Michigan & Beyond
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.
by Part IV of the Ora Labora starts during Christmas 1864. The Colonies funds and provisions are low and its leader Emil Baur is begging his benefactors for loans to make it through the winter. With the war in its closing days the colonist are hopeful that a risky new venture will be profitable.
by The Capac Railroad Depot is a bit off the beaten path. Situated east of Imlay City, it maintains the vibrant small town rural charm found in Michigan. The town is located between Port Huron and Flint. The historic railroad depot is also home to one of the finest small town museums in the region.
by An amazing article from 1878 describing a Fishtown on the ice near Sebewaing on Saginaw Bay.
by The Great Sauk Trail is a major Native American route that ran between Detroit, Chicago and terminated at Rock Island on the Mississippi river. Originally created by migrating bison, the trail was only about a foot wide but also a foot deep as eons of travelers walked along it single file. It was used over a thousand years.
by We examine a local legend of Indian gold and a hermit who made a castle at Loosemore point near the tip of Michigan’s Thumb.
by The production of salt from the deep brine wells around the Upper Thumb propelled the fishing industry to national prominence because they could preserve fish.
by The Saginaw Trail is the oldest and most traveled route in the Indian trail system in Michigan. Starting from the Straits of Detroit to Saginaw. It was a trading route with many other trails leading off. Today the trail is denoted as a great American Roadway starting with Woodward Avenue in Detroit.
by Peer is of the earliest settlers of Huron County, and is second to none in its business history, having begun the development of one of the resources of the county in 1834.
