Lost Towns Of Eastern Michigan

"Many of eastern Michigan's old boomtowns and sleepy villages are faded memories. Nature reclaimed the ruins of some while progress paved over the rest. Discover the stories of lost communities hidden in plain sight or just off the beaten track. The vanished religious colony of Ora Labora fell into a state of near-constant inebriation when beer became the only safe liquid to drink. Lake St. Clair swallowed up the unique currency of Belividere along with the place that issued it. Abandoned towns still crumble within Detroit's city limits. Alan Naldrett delves into the fascinating history of eastern Michigan's lost settlements."-- From back cover.

Eastern Michigan's vanished boomtowns and villages are uncovered and revisited in this fascinating look at the history of the lost settlements around Detroit and the Great Lakes. Many of eastern Michigan's old boomtowns and sleepy villages are faded memories. Nature reclaimed the ruins of some while progress paved over the rest. Discover the stories of lost communities hidden in plain sight or just off the beaten track. The vanished religious colony of Ora Labora fell into a state of near-constant inebriation when beer became the only safe liquid to drink. Lake St. Clair swallowed up the unique currency of Belvidere along with the place that issued it. Abandoned towns still crumble within Detroit's city limits. Alan Naldrett delves into the fascinating history of eastern Michigan's lost settlements.

More than a century ago, Mason County was a much different, harsher place. Arriving by foot and boat to find a dense wilderness, hardy pioneers carved out tiny settlements stretching right to the coast of Lake Michigan. When the lumber industry arrived in Michigan, the settlements grew to boomtowns and new towns formed. To serve the lumber industry, the railroad spread across the county, and immigrants and settlers flooded in to have their chance at the American Dream. But when the lumber ran out, the mills closed down. Jobs disappeared, and so did these towns. Out of the thirty-nine settlements, only two cities and six fading villages remain today. Join local author Sandi Lewis-Malburg as she uncovers the towns that time forgot.

Book Description: Michigan: the way it was. Michigan Ghost Towns compiles settlements and communities that have faded into Michigan's history and legend: Bamfield and Bryant were stations or stops on the AuSable & North Western Railway, a narrow gauge track extending from AuSable to Commins, in Oscoda County. In 1908 Charlie Cote, a Frenchman, was the only inhabitant of Bryant. Orral A. Wardlow, now living at Glennie (1970), said Charlie could feed and sleep half-a-dozen people and his place was ""modestly"" famous for his pea soup. Wardlow said Harry Garrett and Ray Rose were supervisors on the railroad. ""The train, which made one round trip daily, was made up of 20 to 25 bunk cars for hauling logs, and whatever boxcars were needed to haul freight, which was not much. The daily arrival of this train at Glennie was something to look forward to, and greeted by the whole town."" ""Billie Ellis, the conductor, would go into Joe Solomon's general store and help himself to a smoked herring that was always handy on top of the counter, "" Wardlow said. ""I don't remember that he ever paid for one, and Joe never complained. It seemed to be a matter of course that Billie had his herring."" Averill: The former village of Averill, famous during the early logging days of Michigan and the Saginaw Valley, lays in a built up business section bordering old US-10 highway between Sanford and Midland. Present day signs advertising a lumber yard, cocktail lounge, and other business places named ""Red Keg"" are the only reminders of the notorious saloon with a whiskey keg mounted on a pole and painted red that inspired lumberjacks to call the place ""Red Keg."" Located on the Tittabawassee River, and later the terminus of the Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad, Averill was the gateway to the vast expanses of white pine timber in the world's most famous lumbering center, the Saginaw Valley. Red Keg was made famous in legends and songs of the lumberjacks. The Valley's most notorious fight between Silver Jack Driscoll and Big Joe Fournier occurred in this saloon, first operated by Billy McCrary, who was no slouch as a riverman and rough and tumble fighter. Later the Red Keg was run by Edward Francis, who moved to Michigan from Canada. After the big fire that destroyed most of the village in 1875-76 Francis moved to Sandford where he opened another hotel

Michigan has had several towns that have been abandoned or disappeared over the decades. Some were sawmill towns or mining towns that faded away after the trees were cut or the mine closed. Some towns moved when the railroad tracks passed them by and others faded away for some other reason. They show up on the map and sometimes have an old abandoned building or cemetery that mark their existence. This book tells the stories of some of the many towns that faded away. It has locations and things to see if you choose to visit them. Some locations in this book are places that are like ghost towns. They are modern construction made to look old or a collection of historic buildings in a park. They may not be actual ghost towns, but they are still fun to visit and explore. No matter where you live in the Great Lake State there are towns and stories in this book that are near you. There are places in the Detroit Metro area all the way to the Keweenaw Peninsula in the Upper Peninsula. If you love exploring Michigan and its history, this book is a great way to learn about the state's past with locations of some interesting and forgotten ghost towns or places similar to one.

Montcalm County, Michigan, has had 56 sites that qualify as ghost towns, shadow towns or paper towns. This book provides history and context to each one of them, township by township.