News & Fun in Michigan
This tag hints at articles and stories about Michigan history and the Michigan Thumb region. Michigan was part of the Northwest territory, and starting in 1815, the fur trade and influx of settlers and land speculators began.
By the time Michigan became a state in 1838, much of the southern third was already cris-crossed with improved Indian trails and initial roads. In a few short years, the lumbering era would begin, followed by the agriculture growth resulting from the cleared land.
Explore the history of Lincoln, Michigan, from 1890 to 1940 through rare photos. This post uncovers how a logging town evolved into a self-sufficient rural community.
In 1885, Graham’s Mill at Lincoln bustled with logs, smoke, and river commerce on Lincoln Lake. Within a generation, the same shore evolved into Epworth Heights, a summer community overlooking Lake Michigan in Mason County, Michigan. This story links lumber mills to steamers and resorts.
From Spencer Creek’s mills to a Pere Marquette showpiece depot, Alden, Michigan reinvented itself on the shore of Torch Lake. See how railroads, boats, and one short main street reshaped this small northern Michigan town.
North of Grayling, Michigan, the Underground Forest drew 1950s families into a 240-foot tunnel lined with taxidermy wildlife scenes. Built into a sandy hill along Old US-27, this odd roadside stop thrived on vacation traffic until I-75 opened and the cars — and the cave — slowly disappeared.
The History of Wolverine Michigan tells how a rough Sturgeon River logging camp grew into a busy rail village, collapsed when the pines were gone, and slowly rebuilt around a state fish hatchery, US-27 highway traffic and modest tourist camps in northern Michigan.
Hedge’s Wigwam once stood at Woodward and 10 Mile as a concrete teepee cafeteria serving barbecued beef and chicken pot pie to generations of Michigan motorists. This article traces its rise from juice stand to landmark, its 1967 closure, 1972 fire and the statues that remain.
These scenes from around Edmore Michigan, in Montcalm County, show what came after Michigan’s great lumber boom. Once this ground held a deep white pine forest; by the early 1900s, it was a sea of stumps. Crews of farmers and hired …
Drive along Dixie Highway today and Fair Haven, Michigan is easy to miss. A few marinas, a bar or two, and long stretches of reeds along Anchor Bay do not look like much. Yet the history of Fair Haven Michigan shows …
