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History & Culture

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History & Culture notes

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How Alpena became Cement City and home to Besser machinesA Michigan report once called Alpena's Huron plant the world's largest single cement mill. Today, Amrize calls it one of North America's largest, while Besser still builds concrete-product machinery from its Alpena headquarters.
How Montmorency County got its nameMontmorency County was first named for Ojibwe Chief Cheonoquet before the state changed it to a French-Canadian family name.
Leelanau's History, Collected and Kept in LelandThe Leelanau Historical Society Museum holds more than 20,000 items — from Anishinaabek arts to Great Lakes shipwrecks — and a deep newspaper archive going back to 1858.
Marine City, the town that built shipsMarine City was one of the great nineteenth-century wooden shipbuilding towns of the Great Lakes.
Marysville and the Wills Sainte ClaireMarysville was shaped by C. Harold Wills and the rare Wills Sainte Claire automobile.
Pentwater, the harbor villagePentwater grew from Charles Mears' lumber harbor into a walkable Lake Michigan resort village at the channel from Pentwater Lake.
Port Oneida: A Farming Village Frozen in TimeThe Port Oneida Rural Historic District preserves more than 3,400 acres of intact farm landscape from an 1860s German immigrant community, now protected inside Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
Posen, "Little Poland," and the Potato FestivalPolish settlers built a farm community around Posen in the 1870s, and the village's Potato Festival traces its history to 1952.
Rothbury and the Electric ForestRothbury is the quiet Oceana County village beside the Double JJ Resort, where Electric Forest brings tens of thousands of festivalgoers each June.
St. Ignace grew around a mission at an older Straits crossroadsThe Straits were already a central Anishinaabe place when a Jesuit mission took root near Odawa and Huron communities around 1671-72.
The Cross in the WoodsIndian River's Cross in the Woods is a national Catholic shrine centered on a 55-foot redwood cross and a seven-ton bronze figure by Marshall Fredericks.
The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa IndiansThe Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians has roots in the Grand Traverse region going back to the 1830s; after two earlier denials, the federal government formally re-recognized the tribe on May 27, 1980.
The Mackinac Bridge from the St. Ignace sideSt. Ignace sits at the north end of the five-mile Mackinac Bridge. The state ferries stopped when the bridge opened on November 1, 1957.
The Presque Isle lighthouses and the old harborPresque Isle Township's namesake peninsula has a historic Lake Huron harbor, two museum lighthouses, and one of the prettiest shoreline communities in the county.
The Shrine of the PinesThe Shrine of the Pines near Baldwin preserves Raymond Overholzer's hand-built furniture made from white pine stumps and roots.
The Sno*Drift RallySno*Drift brings a national stage rally to Montmorency County's snow-and-ice-covered roads, without the studded tires used at many winter events.
The town that grew gemstonesShelby was home to the Shelby Gem Factory, where synthetic gemstones were grown, cut, and shipped around the world for half a century.
Thomas Edison grew up hereThomas Edison spent his boyhood in Port Huron, selling newspapers on the railroad and experimenting in a baggage car.
Thunder Bay and the shipwreck sanctuaryThunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary protects Lake Huron shipwrecks off Alpena, with museum and glass-bottom-boat access from downtown.
Why Oceana County calls itself the Asparagus CapitalOceana County uses Asparagus Capital of the World as a civic nickname, and Hart celebrates the crop on the second weekend in June.
Why Onaway says it "steered the world"Onaway's famous slogan comes from a real wooden-steering-wheel industry, a locally documented world-largest claim, and a 1926 fire that changed the city.
Yale, the Bologna CapitalYale is known as the Bologna Capital, thanks to C. Roy's Yale Bologna and the town's annual festival.
Buckley and the Old Engine ShowEach August, Buckley fills with working antique engines, farm machinery, and visitors for a show that began with a local gathering in 1967.
Cadillac's two lakes and the canal that built the townCadillac grew between Lake Cadillac and Lake Mitchell after George Mitchell's Clam Lake Canal connected lumber, mills, and the railroad.
Falmouth held the county seat before Lake CityFalmouth briefly held Missaukee County's courthouse before the seat moved to the settlement that became Lake City.
Hamlin Lake and the town that washed awayHamlin Lake is Michigan's largest man-made lake, shaped by lumber dams and the lost town of Hamlin on the Big Sable River.
Harrietta and the birthplace of Michigan's brown troutHarrietta is known for Michigan's oldest operating state fish hatchery and its long brown-trout story.
Idlewild: the Black Eden of MichiganIdlewild in Yates Township was one of the nation's most important Black resort communities before the Civil Rights Act opened other vacation places.
Jennings: the lumber town that all but disappearedJennings was once a busy Missaukee lumber town on Crooked Lake, then many of its houses moved away with the mills.
Lake City: Michigan's Christmas Tree CapitalLake City grew from lumber to Lake Missaukee resort life and then into Michigan's Christmas Tree Capital.
Ludington's lakeshore plant works like a giant batterySouth of Ludington, the pumped storage plant works like a giant battery, moving Lake Michigan water uphill and back down to support the electric grid.
Manton: the town that lost the county seat in a raidManton briefly held the Wexford County seat before Cadillac seized the county records in the wild 1882 Battle of Manton.
McBain: a Dutch farm town with a Rambler streakMcBain grew from a sawmill settlement into Missaukee County's Dutch-rooted farm town.
Mesick, the Mushroom CapitalMesick calls itself the Mushroom Capital of the United States and celebrates morel season with a spring festival rooted in its logging-town past.
Reeder Township and the family that named itThe settlement beside Muskrat Lake took Daniel Reeder's name before becoming Lake City; Reeder Township kept the family name.
The Little River Band of Ottawa Indians and Mason CountyThe 1855 reservation tied the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians to Custer and Eden townships, where Indian Town stood near the Pere Marquette River.
The Pere Marquette name and Father MarquetteAround Ludington, the Pere Marquette name points back to Father Jacques Marquette and a long-debated Lake Michigan death-site tradition.
The world-famous Scottville Clown BandScottville's long-running Clown Band has brought its joyful, noisy parade act to Michigan festivals for generations.
Frankfort and ElbertaFrankfort and Elberta share Benzie's Lake Michigan harbor, beach-town life, and a railroad car-ferry past.
Honor, Lake Ann, and the Platte River countryHonor, Lake Ann, the Platte River, and inland lake country anchor north-central Benzie County.
InterlochenInterlochen brings a world-famous arts campus, Michigan's first state-created park, and lake-and-woods living to Green Lake Township.
Kaleva, the Finnish villageKaleva's Finnish roots and the Makinen Bottle House give central Manistee County one of its signature village stories.
Kalkaska, the Trout CapitalKalkaska's railroad-and-lumber past, giant brook trout, and National Trout Festival make the county seat its own northern Michigan landmark.
Leland, Fishtown, and the Manitou IslandsLeland, Fishtown, Lake Leelanau, and the Manitou Islands shape the historic Lake Michigan side of the Leelanau Peninsula.
Northport, the lighthouse, and the tip of the peninsulaNorthport, Omena, Leelanau State Park, and the Grand Traverse Lighthouse anchor the quiet northern tip of the Leelanau Peninsula.
The Old Mission PeninsulaThe Old Mission Peninsula is Peninsula Township's scenic spine of orchards, vineyards, bay views, and old Grand Traverse history.
The southern villages and countrysideSouthern Grand Traverse County centers on Kingsley, Fife Lake, rural townships, rail history, farms, woods, and more affordable country living.
Traverse CityTraverse City is northern Michigan's regional hub, with downtown, Grand Traverse Bay, the restored Commons, and busy Garfield Township close together.
Beaver IslandBeaver Island is a remote Lake Michigan island with Strangite history, Irish roots, and a very different kind of property-buying rhythm.
Beaverton: where two rivers meetBeaverton began as Grand Forks at the Tobacco and Cedar river confluence and still works as a small gateway to water and woods.
Bellaire and Shanty CreekBellaire is Antrim County's courthouse village and Chain of Lakes hub, with Shanty Creek nearby as a four-season resort.
Boyne CityBoyne City is a lively Lake Charlevoix town with a working downtown, lumber history, and the National Morel Mushroom Festival.
Charlevoix the BeautifulCharlevoix the Beautiful is a premium resort town between Lake Michigan, Round Lake, and Lake Charlevoix.
East JordanEast Jordan is a working Lake Charlevoix town shaped by the Jordan River, EJ, and the Breezeway.
Evart's Dulcimer Funfest fills the fairgrounds with acoustic musicEvery July, the ODPC Funfest brings hammered dulcimers and other acoustic instruments to Evart for workshops, concerts, camping, and open jams.
Fairview and Oscoda's Amish countryFairview anchors Oscoda County's Amish community, farm country, small museums, and wild-turkey identity.
Ferris State University: the heart of Big RapidsHow Ferris State University shapes Big Rapids as a college town and county employer.
Gaylord, Michigan's "Alpine Village"Gaylord is Otsego County's Alpine Village, county seat, snowbelt hub, and main shopping and service center.
Gladwin's lumber-town history (and the Carriage Festival)Gladwin grew from a lumber town called Cedar, and its historical village and Carriage Festival keep that local history visible.
Grayling: the county seat and crossroadsGrayling is Crawford County's city hub, with highway access, healthcare, downtown, and year-round outdoor access.

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