The Side Wheeler Steamboats on Michigan’s Saginaw River
Side-wheeler steamers were used across the Great Lakes well into the late 1800s. The East Saginaw and Bay City line ran on Michigan’s Saginaw River.
The Lake Huron Shipwreck of the Iron Chief
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
Steamship Excursion From Detroit 1910
While railroads had been in service for much of the major cities in southern Michigan, excursion steamships were still a comfortable and viable option to get to Michigan’s northern resort areas. You could board a ship on a Friday evening, have dinner on board, and arrive in north Michigan the next morning.
Aboard the Miss Port Sanilac 1960
The Miss Port Sanilac is a 38-foot fishing vessel that was built in 1958 in Pigeon Michigan. Today the Miss Port Sanilac operates out of Port Sanilac Marina for charter tours, wreck viewing, and diving.
The Pier Based Coast Guard Harbor Beach Station
The original Coast Guard Station was a pier station built on the Jenk’s company dock in 1910 and incorporated a 50-foot lookout tower. The station …
The First Woman Lighthouse Keeper in Michigan Ran The Pointe Aux Barques Lighthouse
In 1849, Catherine Shook was appointed the first woman lighthouse keeper in the State of Michigan. She ran the Pointe Aux Barques Lighthouse until 1851.
Sebewaing Railway Depot – The Historical Center of the Western Thumb
While neglected, with broken windows, faded peeling paint and vines almost covering one end, this historic depot helped make the region an economic powerhouse for the eastern shore of the Thumb for decades
Discover Enchantment: 10 More Spectacular Day Trips in Michigan’s Thumb Region – Part Two
In Part One of our Michigan Day Trip Around the Thumb we traveled from Port Huron up the eastern shore of Lake Huron to the tip of the Thumb. Our starting point for the second half of our adventure is in Grindstone City. We will begin heading west along Saginaw Bay’s shore of sugar sand beaches and interesting coastal towns and villages. I hope you brought your bathing suit because this side of the Thumb offers some of the best swimming beaches in Michigan.