Finding Fun in Michigan & Beyond
Covering topics from early European colonization, fur trade, military history, the French and Indian War, Pontiac’s Rebellion, Michigan in the American Revolution, Michigan in the Civil War, lumbering and early tourism in Michigan.
by The St. Joseph Trail was an ancient major native American route that traversed the southern portion of Michigan—originating near the mouth of the St. Joseph river, it continued eastward terminating near Ann Arbor and connecting with the other major trail systems along the Straits of Detroit.
by 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.
by In October of 1871, a great forest fire swept across much of the Thumb region including the section of Michigan that included the lands of the former colony of Ora Labora. The colony was in the process of being disbanded and the lands sold off, but large holdings remained including some cabins and buildings. The colony’s benefactor and primary landowner, the Harmony Society immediately sent $200 for distribution among the needy.
by The Pigeon Historical Society to relocate and restore two cabins that were originally located in the 1800s German religious colony called Ora Labora.
by Ora Labora known as “Christian German Agricultural and Benevolent Society of Ora et Labora” (Pray and Work), where it’s parishioners could combine work with prayer, and live according to the Methodist Church Discipline. Founded in 1862 on Michigan’s Wild Fowl Bay, the colony disappeared in 1867
by The Northern Michigan Jewish Colony of Palestine located outside of Bad Axe began in the late 1883 and lasted for over 20 years.
