News History & 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.
Rives Junction helped define Michigan’s land system in 1815, then became a busy rail crossing that never grew. This story explains why a place so important stayed small.
The history of Durand Michigan is the story of the railroad. Unlike many Michigan towns that grew around lumber, mining, or farming, Durand grew because a rail line crossed at a specific point on the map. That crossing turned farmland into …
There was a time when thousands of people came to Lake Orion every summer, not by car, but by boat. They came for a place called Park Island. Today, many people who live in or visit Lake Orion have never heard …
Copemish, Michigan began as a railroad stop and logging town in Manistee County. These early photos show a busy small town built on timber, railroads, and local businesses that served the people who lived and worked there.
The History of Buckley Michigan is the story of a railroad and logging town that survived the end of the lumber era by turning to agriculture, allowing the town to survive while many northern Michigan logging towns disappeared.
Michigan’s history is often told through well-known events—Detroit’s auto industry, the Mackinac Bridge, or lumber booms. But across the state, smaller and often forgotten stories still sit in plain sight. While many people think of its big factories and industrial growth, …
Genealogy research in Michigan is entering a new phase, driven by faster access to vital records, advances in DNA technology, and expanded historical archives. Recent developments across the state point to a shift: Michigan genealogy research and family history are no …
Did you know that in the 1920s, the Red Cross provided essential health care services to Michigan’s rural Thumb region? Even in those days, the Red Cross was dedicated to reaching communities in need with creativity and determination.
