Elkton, Michigan 1940 – The Day the Star Theater Welcomed Hollywood
Watch this Michigan Moments episode as we travel back to downtown Elkton, Michigan, in 1940, when a single photograph captured
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Videos
History of Deford Michigan: How a Small Railroad Stop Became a Busy Farm Community
The History of Deford Michigan comes alive through rare early 1900s photos showing the depot, Bruce Block, post office, hotel, school, grain elevator and Standard Condensed Milk Co. plant. Together, they show how a small Tuscola County town became a working farm and rail hub.
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Forgotten History of the Ghost Town of Sigma Michigan (1910 – 1925)
Sigma, Michigan, rose around 1910 as a railroad lumber town in Kalkaska County. Its depot, camps, shops and holiday crowds show a brief boom built on timber and rail service.
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History of Crystal Falls Michigan – 10 Stunning Photos From Its Iron Mining Past (1900–1949)
Crystal Falls Michigan rose on iron ore, railroads, and hydroelectric power. These rare photos and stories reveal how the Upper Peninsula town survived boom years, deadly mine collapses, the Great Depression, and WWII.
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Humble History of Lake Ann Michigan – 14 Vintage Shots From Frontier Village To Cottage Country
The history of Lake Ann Michigan centers on timber, railroads and fire. In 1897, flames destroyed nine blocks, left 75 families homeless and killed an elderly resident trying to save valuables. The disaster changed a promising lumber village into something smaller.
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History of Hillman Michigan – 1908 Fire, Railroads and Lake Avalon Shaped a Northern Village
Hillman, Michigan, grew from Brush Creek into a village shaped by timber, railroads, farms, fire and Lake Avalon. Its story includes department stores, hotels, grain elevators, service stations, resort cottages and a late-arriving railroad that changed the town, but did not define it.
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Main Street Village of Tuscola, c. 1900 – A Surprising Ancient Site on the Cass River
Tuscola’s c. 1900 Main Street looks calm, but the road carries a bigger story. The village rose along the Cass River with mills, stores and early settlers, then slowed when railroad growth favored other towns in Michigan’s Thumb.
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Fairgrove Michigan History – A Look Back at Small-Town Life in the 1900s
This Michigan Moments video looks at Fairgrove, Michigan, through historic postcards showing village streets, the railroad depot, grain elevator and local businesses.
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Henry Ford’s Secret Train That the Government Didn’t Want You to Ride!
Watch this Michigan Moments short about Henry Ford’s Gas-Electric Train. The 30-second video looks at Gas-Electric Car No. 35 of
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Passenger Steamer Topinabee on Burt Lake: Historic Michigan Short
Watch this Michigan Moments short about the Passenger Steamer Topinabee on Burt Lake. The video looks back at a time
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