Northern Michigan History Articles
Head to St. Ignace—Where History and Water Mix
PAID CONTENT At 351 years old (and counting!), St. Ignace welcomes you into its colorful and dramatic past while serving up plenty of current...
9 Sault Ste. Marie Adventures for a Long Weekend in Canada
PAID CONTENT For a few days away or a major vacay, our neighbor to the north welcomes adventurers of all stripes. Here are 9 can't-miss adventures...
A 1920s Christmas with the Grand Traverse Lighthouse Keeper
Travel back in time to celebrate Christmas with James McCormick, his wife and eight children at the Grand Traverse Lighthouse in Northport. Explore...
The History of Agriculture at Sleeping Bear Dunes
| PAID CONTENT Sleeping Bear Dunes Visitors Bureau shares an intriguing look back at the history of...
Dust & Heat : A Summer at Penn-Dixie in Petoskey
Fine cement dust, sweltering heat from the kilns and backbreaking work define a young college student’s summer at a Petoskey cement plant before its...
3 New Lake Superior Shipwrecks Found in Upper Peninsula
The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society (GLSHS) recently discovered three 1800’s-era shipwrecks in the vicinity of Grand Marais in Michigan's...
The Mystery & Tragedy of Upper Peninsula Prehistoric Drawings
The only prehistoric rock drawings in Michigan, located in the Upper Peninsula between Manistique and Escanaba, are fading into oblivion from...
Visit Northern Michigan Spots that Inspired Icon Ernest Hemingway
The 21 or so summers that Ernest Hemingway spent in Northern Michigan shaped his literary trajectory. Visit the places in Petoskey, Boyne City and...
Go Back in Time at This 100-Year-Old Elk Lake Cottage
Just a few miles from Elk Rapids on Elk Lake, this storied family cottage has been holding onto memories of the past century. Featuring a dramatic...
On The Table Elote Recipe Inspired by Traverse City’s Own Miguel Osorio
For August's On The Table recipe, Stacey Brugeman is taking Mexican street corn back to its roots thanks to Traverse City's own Miguel Osorio of...
Native Americans, Settlers, Car Shows … St. Ignace, MI Turns 350!
PAID CONTENT As St. Ignace celebrates its 350th anniversary, we take a look back at its intriguing history—and where the city is heading in the...
A Fourth-Generation Boyne Country Cottage Evokes Family Memories
Clarity, memories and peace come to Mary Meany every time she is at her family property. Dive in to explore the history surrounding this...
How to Spend 24 Hours in Manistee, a City with a Storied Past
Take your Northern Michigan adventure up a notch by spending 24-hours in Manistee. Here are four different ways to stay and play in this region with...
Get to Know Earl Young, the Man Behind Charlevoix’s Quirky-Cool Mushroom Houses
Almost 50 years after his death, Charlevoix's Earl Young and his stone masterpieces are getting fresh, new recognition. Learn more about Young's...
You’re Invited to the Centennial Hemingway Wedding Reception
The Village of Walloon Lake has announced the Hemingway Centennial Wedding Reception this September. Featuring an auction with unique Hemingway and...
The History of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
| PAID CONTENT We all know the legend of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, how a mother and her cubs fleeing a...
Go Back in Time at These Mackinac State Historic Parks
Mackinac Island is home to two historic forts: Fort Mackinac and Fort Holmes. A visit to these extraordinarily well-preserved sites is about as...
Mission Point Resort on Mackinac Island Has Unexpected History
PAID CONTENT The land upon which Mackinac Island's Mission Point Resort sits has an ancient and intriguing history: From the Native American tribes...
Archangel Ancient Tree Archive Restoring Old Growth Forests Internationally
Founder David Milarch calls Archangel Ancient Tree Archive the "most hopeful project on the planet." Learn how the work Archangel does helps restore...
Walloon Lake Plans Year-Long “Hemingway Homecoming”
The Village of Walloon Lake has planned a year’s worth of activities and special events celebrating Northern Michigan and one-time summer resident...
8 Sweet Things to Know About St. Ignace, Michigan
In 1671, Father Marquette established a mission in St. Ignace, making 2021 the 350th anniversary of the city being continually inhabited. Here are a...
Fire Historic Guns Across the Straits at Colonial Michilimackinac
Imagine it: Colonial Michilimackinac, in Mackinaw City, is emptying out at the end of another big day and you have the place to yourself. You make...
Peace Reigns as Sleeping Bear Dunes Celebrates 50 Beautiful Years
A half-century after Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore was established in Northern Michigan's Leelanau and Benzie counties, peace reigns in the...
This Traverse City Auto Repair Shop is Truly Unique
A beautiful Traverse City auto repair shop is stationed in time. It was October 1987 when Traverse, Northern Michigan's Magazine featured Traverse...
Michigan Diver Chris Roxburgh Shares Epic Shipwreck Photos
Traverse City resident Chris Roxburgh is an electrical contractor who owns First Class Wiring. He’s also a scuba diver and underwater photographer,...
MI DNR: Protecting Michigan’s Historical Treasures from Fire
Michigan has a a treasure trove of preserved natural areas, but the state also boasts hundreds of preserved historic buildings. It's the job of The...
The Incredibly Cool Excavation of Colonial Michilimackinac
The summer of 2019 marked the 60th anniversary of the archeological excavation of Fort Michilimackinac, now called Colonial Michilimackinac. Six...
The Many Names of Grand Traverse Bay’s Power Island
In August 1981, Traverse Magazine writer Cindee Egan shed light on the many former names of Power Island, tucked in West Grand Traverse Bay. In...
When Baseball Was the Only Game in Town
In the early 1900s, Sundays meant game time in Leelanau County as hundreds of spectators came to watch the Empire Greys take on one of several...
Meet the Tin Can Tourists
The Tin Can Tourists and their vintage metal campers converge at Interlochen State Park for a weekend of camaraderie. Featured in the July 2020...
A First Time for Everything in Grand Traverse Region
When was the first house built in Traverse City? And when did it became a popular honeymoon destination? Here are four firsts in the Grand Traverse...
Al Capone’s Northern Michigan Connections
Al Capone's mysterious legacy lives on in Northern Michigan. In celebration of our 40th anniversary in 2020, we're digging into our archives and...
New Book Tells the Story of Beaver Island’s King Strang
Miles Harvey will join the National Writers Series on July 14 at 7 p.m., talking about his new book, The King of Confidence. Register for the free,...
Summers are Magic at Arcadia’s Watervale Inn
There was a time and place during my childhood when I was sure my dad loved me. It was on our two trips each summer to the Watervale Inn in Arcadia,...
Island Insider: Explore Mackinac Like You Live There
To head past the Grand Hotel, up Mackinac Island's West Bluff, is to want to live in one of those cottage mansions with breezy two-story porches,...
Northern Michigan’s Past: Hop Aboard the Dummy Express
If you were traveling between Petoskey and Harbor Springs during a characteristic, turn-of-the-century summer, chances are that you let a dummy lead...
Restoring Copper Harbor Lighthouse in Keweenaw County
Standing as a silent guard at the very top of the Upper Peninsula, the Copper Harbor Lighthouse once guided vessels traveling in Lake Superior to...
4 Things You Might Not Know About Mackinac Island Lilacs
Why are there are so many Mackinac Island lilacs? And how did they get there? There's something so singular about the ambrosial, heady perfume that...
A Life of Wild Adventures: Meet Author James B. Hendryx
Explore the life of author James B. Hendryx, the folk hero of Lee Point in Suttons Bay. In celebration of our 40th anniversary in 2020, we're...
DNR Videos Bring Nature and History Home for Michigan Kids
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is creating videos to help teach kids and adults about a range of nature and history topics at home....
How Northern Michigan Towns Got their Names
Have you ever wondered how your favorite Northern Michigan towns were named? Shared from "Michigan Place Names: The History of the Founding and the...
Manistee County Offers Virtual Tours of 100+ Historical Sites
From the theater where James Earl Jones got his acting start, to the world’s oldest continuously manned operating fire station, to the largest...
4 Historical Places to Visit in Northern Michigan
There's history you can study and there's history you can literally feel. Sink to the chilly depths of a one-time copper mine, dance in a...
Have You Kissed the Moose at Sleder’s Family Tavern?
It’s a quirky rite of passage at a historic Northern Michigan restaurant. This is why everyone started kissing the moose at Sleder's Family Tavern...
Mackinac State Historic Parks Celebrating 125 Years
Mackinac State Historic Parks is turning 125 years old in 2020. The Mackinac Island State Park Commission, established in 1895 when the federal...
Traverse City Event Explores Michigan Shipwreck Mysteries
Explore the depths of Lake Michigan with author and shipwreck hunter Ross Richardson at Milliken Auditorium on February 19. The program, "Exploring...
Retro Snapshots from Michigan Ski Resorts
Where there's snow, there are memories to be made. Come along for a throwback trip through Northern Michigan ski hill history. BOYNE MOUNTAIN Year...
New Interactive Map Highlights Great Lakes Shipwrecks and Lore
The cold, fresh waters of the Great Lakes are littered with shipwrecks. Now, thanks to a new online map, you can take a closer look at Great Lakes...
A 1930’s Diary Reveals What Life Was Like During an Isle Royale Winter
A young mother is assigned to teach on Lake Superior’s Isle Royale in the throes of the Great Depression. In winter, the Michigan island becomes...
Grandfather Christmas: In 1915, Every Child in Harbor Springs Had a Present
The famous Harbor Springs inventor Ephraim Shay was more commonly known throughout the community as Grandfather Shay ... The year is 1914. A...
Can You Answer These Northern Michigan Trivia Questions?
How much do you know about Northern Michigan? Let’s find out! James Earl JonesHoughtonCherry Jerry at The Cherry HutSunday, August 2, 2015Carleton...
Tahquamenon Falls State Park is a Michigan Treasure. How Was it Created?
Today, the Tahquamenon Falls are among Michigan’s most photographed places. But prior to becoming the premier attraction at Michigan’s...
Do You Dare Stay the Night at Michigan’s Most Haunted Lighthouse?
Michigan has more lighthouses than any other state, and nearly one-fifth of them have a ghostly story to be told. Why are so many of our lighthouses...
Keepers of the Culture at Harbor Springs Area Historical Society
An old brick vault in the heart of Harbor Springs is the new home for oral history. The Harbor Springs Area Historical Society recently opened a new...
Life at Point Betsie Lighthouse was Heartbreaking, Exhausting & Beautiful in the 1800s
Her great-great-great grandparents Alonzo and Alice Slyfield first kept the South Manitou Lighthouse from 1853 to 1859; then Point Betsie Lighthouse...
100 Years of Happy Campers at Michigan State Parks
As the Michigan State Park Commission celebrates its centennial in 2019, we pay homage to the memories made—and those yet to come. These stories and...
Go Back to the Year 1776 at Colonial Michilimackinac
Most days, Craig Wilson’s mornings are pretty typical. As the Curator of History for Mackinac State Historic Parks, getting dressed for work usually...
Timeline: The Iconic Traverse City State Theatre
The Traverse City State Theatre actually began as the Lyric Theatre just over 100 years ago in 1916. The site has since seen two debilitating fires,...
5 Must-Do Stops on Old Mission Peninsula
PAID CONTENT Soak up good times and beautiful scenery at these wineries, restaurants, vistas and roadside attractions on Traverse City’s coast....
Work Begins to Restore DeYoung Natural Area Farmstead
“Finally, our DeYoung Natural Area farmstead is about to blossom,” says Leelanau Conservancy Executive Director Tom Nelson.“For everyone who...
Northern Michigan History Articles
Head to St. Ignace—Where History and Water Mix
PAID CONTENT At 351 years old (and counting!), St. Ignace welcomes you into its colorful and dramatic past while serving up plenty of current entertainment—all set on the spectacularly beautiful Straits of Mackinac.Imagine the Straits of Mackinac in the 17th century,...
9 Sault Ste. Marie Adventures for a Long Weekend in Canada
PAID CONTENT For a few days away or a major vacay, our neighbor to the north welcomes adventurers of all stripes. Here are 9 can't-miss adventures from Sault Ste. Marie Tourism. The bridge between Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan and Sault Ste. Marie, Canada has become a...
A 1920s Christmas with the Grand Traverse Lighthouse Keeper
Travel back in time to celebrate Christmas with James McCormick, his wife and eight children at the Grand Traverse Lighthouse in Northport. Explore his unique experiences as a Northern Michigan lighthouse keeper through an excerpt from A "Grand" Grand Traverse...
The History of Agriculture at Sleeping Bear Dunes
| PAID CONTENT Sleeping Bear Dunes Visitors Bureau shares an intriguing look back at the history of agriculture in the region and the importance of small family farms. You'll see Port Oneida, a true historical gem that's...
Dust & Heat : A Summer at Penn-Dixie in Petoskey
Fine cement dust, sweltering heat from the kilns and backbreaking work define a young college student’s summer at a Petoskey cement plant before its closure in 1981.I wheeled off the Petoskey-Charlevoix road to the Penn-Dixie cement plant that sprawled along the shore...
3 New Lake Superior Shipwrecks Found in Upper Peninsula
The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society (GLSHS) recently discovered three 1800’s-era shipwrecks in the vicinity of Grand Marais in Michigan's Upper Peninsula in Lake Superior. A number of additional shipwrecks have also been located and await positive...
The Mystery & Tragedy of Upper Peninsula Prehistoric Drawings
The only prehistoric rock drawings in Michigan, located in the Upper Peninsula between Manistique and Escanaba, are fading into oblivion from neglect and vandalization. Can they be saved? As long ago as the Early Woodland period (2400- 1400 bp—before present), one or...
Visit Northern Michigan Spots that Inspired Icon Ernest Hemingway
The 21 or so summers that Ernest Hemingway spent in Northern Michigan shaped his literary trajectory. Visit the places in Petoskey, Boyne City and more that inspired an icon; Hemingway’s North. “This is where the magic happened,” says Chris Struble, president of the...
Go Back in Time at This 100-Year-Old Elk Lake Cottage
Just a few miles from Elk Rapids on Elk Lake, this storied family cottage has been holding onto memories of the past century. Featuring a dramatic fieldstone fireplace that spans two floors, original iron beds and claw-footed tubs, not much has changed about this...
On The Table Elote Recipe Inspired by Traverse City’s Own Miguel Osorio
For August's On The Table recipe, Stacey Brugeman is taking Mexican street corn back to its roots thanks to Traverse City's own Miguel Osorio of Osorio Tacos y Salsas. Dive in to learn the history behind this dish and why it's the perfect recipe for delicious, fresh...
