Finding Fun in Michigan & Beyond
by In the mid to late 1800s steamships traveling on the Great Lakes were the only way to get to most cities.
Cruising via paddlewheel steamer gave rise to our northern Michigan tourism industry and the start of the term “Going Up North” Prior to the railroads and automobiles.
by The end of the lumber era forced entry into new industry in northern Michigan
by In the late 1800’s Caseville Michigan was a booming town. This included large ship building.
by Henry Schoolcraft was asked to join an expedition organized by Governor Cass of Michigan in 1819. Its purpose was to locate the source of the Mississippi River’ and explore the Great Lakes region. As an expert mineralogist, he was tasked with describing Michigan’s significant topographical features, natural history, and mineral wealth. The expedition took approximately 40 men in five long voyageur canoes commonly used in the fur trade on the Great Lakes. At 35 feet long and 6 feet wide, the canoe had an amazing capacity of four tons. They started the journey on May 24, 1820.
by In the mid 1800’s much of Michigan was wilderness. In 1857, Captain George Meade took over the Lakes Survey mission of the Great Lakes.
by Grindstone City made a humorous attempt to get tourists driving by to stop and take a look and maybe take a selfie with Mr. Grindstone.
by The mural in Caro’s Post Office; Mail on the Farm was done in 1941 by Michigan artist David Fredenthal. Its one of five worked commissioned by the Department of the Treasury during the Great Depression.
by Excerpt on the Pointe Aux Barques Resort taken from the Standard Guide to Mackinac Island and Northern Michigan Resorts 1899.
The Standard Guide; Mackinac Island and Northern Lake Resorts. It is a visitors handbook written in 1898 detailing early tourism to Mackinac Island. For 25 cents it gave the potential visitor a glimpse of what to expect at Michigan’s premier tourist destination. However, the ads and descriptions of the other northern Michigan resorts of the day are fascinating.
