Michigan State Campgrounds: A Guide to DNR Systems and Regional Favorites
If you wait until the snow melts to book your summer stay at Michigan state campgrounds, you’ve already lost the best sites to planners who started…
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.
Michigan’s Southern Thumb Crossroads – Travel 6 Small Towns Built by Railroads, Farms and Fire
Six small Michigan towns once depended on two intersecting railroad routes. This Southern Thumb history hub brings together Michigan Moments videos, rare photographs and supporting articles about Marlette, Clifford, North Branch, Mayville, Kingston and Silverwood, tracing their shift from lumber settlements to farm communities today.
How to Visit Turnip Rock in Port Austin, Michigan
A trip to see Turnip Rock in Michigan requires more than just a GPS destination. The iconic formation, located off the shore of Port Austin at the…
History of Silverwood Michigan – 12 Shots Of A Railroad Town Once Called Easy and Rollo
Silverwood began as Easy, became Rollo, then took its lasting name in 1892. Rail service, local businesses, churches and farm families shaped this small Tuscola County community.
Port Austin Travel Guide: Navigating the Tip of Michigan’s Thumb in 2026
A trip to Port Austin, Michigan, requires a different mindset than a typical beach vacation. Located at the northernmost point of Huron County, where…
New Mid-Michigan Guidebook Gives the Thumb a Larger Place in Michigan History
A new Mid-Michigan guidebook gives the Thumb a larger role in Michigan history, with regional tours and accounts of Shay Lake, agriculture, migration, labor and environmental change.
6 Notable Historical Events in Michigan that changed Everything
Michigan was once dismissed as a worthless swamp by early federal surveyors, a region supposedly too muddy and mosquito-ridden to support a growing…
Donuts & Cider – Fall Festivals in Michigan
Michigan orchards produced more than 1.3 billion pounds of apples last year, a harvest that secures the state’s position as the second-largest…