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.

Infographic – 100 Years of Influenza Pandemics in the United States

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

Post Views: 219

Fortnight In The Wilderness Alexis De Tocqueville

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.

Port Sanilac Lighthouse – Beacon for the Shore of Michigan’s Thumb

Posted on January 26, 2020March 19, 2026 by Malcom Mott

If you’re looking for things to do in Detroit, take a short road trip up M-25. The Port Sanilac Lighthouse was built in 1886 on the eastern shore of Michigan’s Thumb. This beautiful light serves the 60-mile shore between Fort Gratiot and Harbor Beach Light.

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.

Plans Underway for 2 Ora Labora Cabins From the Colony to be Restored

Posted on January 2, 2020February 13, 2025 by Michael Hardy

The Pigeon Historical Society to relocate and restore two cabins that were originally located in the 1800s German religious colony called Ora Labora.

The Ora Labora Experiment by Florence McKinnon Gwinn

Posted on December 26, 2019November 18, 2021 by Michael Hardy

The Ora Labora Experiment is an excerpt from a common historical document that has been scanned and re-published numerous times

Ora Labora 1863 – A Lost Colony in Michigan’s North – Part 2

Posted on April 12, 2019June 16, 2026 by Michael Hardy

Part II of the Ora Labora story outlines the summer of 1863. Building is rapid and progress exciting in Michigan’s north. But the looming effect of the Civil War is about to impact this fledgling German religious colony’s effort to bring their culture and traditions to the Great Lakes wilderness.

Michigan Prohibition – 16 Years Of Bootlegging At Huron’s Whiskey Harbor

Posted on March 2, 2019May 31, 2026 by Paul Austin

On the eastern edge of Michigan’s Thumb lies a lonely and very rocky cove on the shore of Lake Huron. The remote area sits on a layer of limestone that makes it hard to build on so it remains undeveloped to this day. It’s hard to imagine that this beautiful remote setting was the site for criminal activity during the time of Michigan Prohibition for over 12 years.