Category: History

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.

Quarry Works in Grindstone City 1920s

Posted on April 23, 2020March 10, 2026 by Peter Rossi

Quarry Works Grindstone City in the 1920s This shot of the quarry in Grindstone City in the early 1900s reveals

Michigan’s Warmest Decade In 125 Years

Posted on April 7, 2020March 10, 2026 by Peter Rossi

Back in 2012, we noted with great interest an advisory posted by the National Weather Service. It noted the start

The Pioneer Sketches of Jacob Parkhurst

Posted on March 31, 2020November 15, 2021 by Malcom Mott

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.

The Last Time A Michigan Governor Shutdown the State Due to a Pandemic

Posted on March 26, 2020November 15, 2021 by Michael Hardy

Gretchen Whitmer’s order to “Stay Home, Stay Safe” is a Michigan shutdown of the nonessential business due to the coronavirus outbreak. This was done once before by Michigan governor Albert Sleeper in October 1918.

Michigan’s Experience with Pandemics – Infographic

Posted on March 13, 2020November 15, 2021 by Michael Hardy

Over the past 100 years, the United States and Michigan have been hit with four influenza pandemics. Of all of these, the 1918 outbreak was the most serious in terms of mortality and the two-year duration of the epidemic.

Infographic – 100 Years of Influenza Pandemics in the United States

Posted on March 12, 2020March 10, 2026 by Peter Rossi

Post Views: 91

A Fortnight in the Wilderness by Alexis De Tocqueville

Posted on March 2, 2020April 5, 2025 by Malcom Mott

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.

Ora Labora – The Final Days of the Colony 1866 – Part 5

Posted on January 5, 2020November 18, 2021 by Michael Hardy

Ora Labora’s final viable year as a religious colony in the wilderness of the upper thumb of Michigan was 1866. We reveal the final desperate attempts to keep it going.