The Michigan Almanac
A town that drew its name from a hat. A city tucked inside another city. A five-hundred-year-old horse. This is the porch half of Michigan Porch — 1,119 short, true stories about the places, people, and quirks of the state, each one sourced. No task required. Sit down, pick a thread, wander.
Tonight's shelf
Nine from the collection — a different mix every time we restock it.
The Indian boarding school at the edge of Mount Pleasant
From 1893 to 1934 the federal government ran a boarding school in Mount Pleasant that took Native children from across Michigan and beyond; the surviving buildings now belong to the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe.
Read the story →Chase: the town with no river and seventeen mill whistles
Most lumber towns rode a river to move their logs. Chase had no big stream — so the railroad came instead, and by the mid-1880s seventeen sawmill whistles blew over a town of thousands.
Read the story →Howard City: where two railroads crossed
Howard City grew up around a railroad junction where the Grand Rapids & Indiana met a second line from the east, and it shared a union depot between them.
Read the story →A whole 1900s village rebuilt near Sidney
Heritage Village at Montcalm Community College near Sidney is a cluster of 28 old buildings — a log cabin, town hall, jail, print shop — moved in and restored to show turn-of-the-century county life.
Read the story →The St. Johns courthouse clock that outlived its building
Clinton County's courthouse was rebuilt in 2000, but the old clockworks, the bell, and even the spiral stairs from the 1872 building were saved and live on inside the new cupola.
Read the story →Barry Sanders: The Most Exciting Lion of All
For ten seasons the most electrifying runner in football played in Detroit — then walked away, near his peak, just shy of the all-time record.
Read the story →Fort Gratiot, Michigan's oldest lighthouse
Port Huron's Fort Gratiot Light is Michigan's oldest lighthouse, still marking the mouth of the St. Clair River.
Read the story →Michigan's oldest working courthouse
Lapeer's 1845-46 courthouse is the oldest courthouse still in use in Michigan.
Read the story →Pinconning: Michigan's Cheese Capital
Pinconning cheese — Michigan's own Colby-style original — was born here in 1915, and the founder's family shops still anchor the town.
Read the story →The collections
Curated trails through the state — each one strings together the towns and stories of a theme.
Kind of place
Michigan's college towns
Follow the trail →Region
The Upper Peninsula
Follow the trail →Region
The West Michigan shoreline
Follow the trail →Region
Traverse country & the northwest coast
Follow the trail →Region
The Straits of Mackinac
Follow the trail →Region
Northern lake country
Follow the trail →Region
The Thumb
Follow the trail →Region
Downriver
Follow the trail →The quiz
The Michigan Rules Quiz
Sixty-plus real Michigan rules, each with the official source behind the answer. Locals miss more than they expect.
Take a guess →By place
Start from your town
Every story is pinned to the map. Open your town or county and the local ones are waiting there.
Find your town →Page feedback
See something wrong or unclear?
Send a note about this page. The page address will be included automatically.
Page feedback
Send a note
The page you're on will be included automatically.