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.

Black-and-white photo of multiple horse-drawn wagons loaded with sugar beets traveling along a dirt road past small buildings and utility poles in Sebewaing, Michigan.

Beet Harvest Traffic Jam — Sebewaing Style

Posted on January 31, 2026February 23, 2026 by Michael Hardy

Horse-drawn wagons loaded with sugar beets roll through Sebewaing in this vintage scene titled “Hauling Sugar Beets, Sebewaing Michigan.” Long

Detroit’s Barlum Hotel at Cadillac Square – 1949

Posted on January 30, 2026January 28, 2026 by Michael Hardy

Downtown Detroit, circa 1949. The Barlum Hotel looms over Cadillac Square as buses circle the park and workers head toward the courthouse blocks. The bold wall sign faces Barlum Tower—now Cadillac Tower—built in 1927 during the city’s vertical building boom. This view likely sits a block east of Woodward Avenue, long considered Detroit’s spine. The scene is brisk, noisy, and confident, an everyday moment before the hotel’s later conversion to Cadillac Square Apartments.

Jess and Nell: Sebewaing’s Winter Work Team

Posted on January 30, 2026February 23, 2026 by Michael Hardy

Jess and Nell, a team of draft horses, stand hitched to a low winter sled in Sebewaing — dated 1910

First Carriages Made In Romeo Michigan – 1844

Posted on January 28, 2026February 23, 2026 by Michael Hardy

Romeo’s Main Street, likely early 1900s. Two horse-drawn vehicles pause as flags wave. A sign on the coach at right claims it was the first carriage built in Macomb County, circa 1844. The claim is proud, if approximate. Romeo, about 30 miles north of Detroit, later became known for the Michigan Peach Festival, launched in 1931.

Category: History

Beet Harvest Traffic Jam — Sebewaing Style

Detroit’s Barlum Hotel at Cadillac Square – 1949

Jess and Nell: Sebewaing’s Winter Work Team

First Carriages Made In Romeo Michigan – 1844

When Waterford Harvested Winter – People’s Ice on Huntoon Lake

When President Taft Came to Battle Creek (1911)

John Jacob Astor’s American Fur Company Headquarters 1817 – The Robert Stewart House – Video

Inside Camp Jeanette – A 1930s Waterford Summer for Detroit Kids