Grayling

Grayling. . , In 1872, the Jackson, Lansing and Saginaw railroad built "Crawford Station" to serve logging activities. It was located where the Crawford County Historical Museum stands today. In 1874, residents voted to rename their town Grayling in honor of the fish that were abundant in the area. , , The lumber industry helped Grayling grow into a bustling community. With a population of nearly 2,500 in 1920, its downtown boasted hotels, saloons and stores. Today, Grayling is known as the gateway to the north, and its location at the crossroads of major highways provides easy access to outdoor recreation. , , Location, Location, Location , The Anishnaabek have long lived on the land where Grayling now stands. The area provided convenient access to land and water transportation routes. Two major Native American pathways, the Mackinac and Cheboygan Tails, passed nearby. , , Just north of here, a short portage between the AuSable and Manistee Rivers allowed the Anishnaabek to travel between Lakes Huron and Michigan almost entirely by canoe. French fur traders of the 18th century found it an ideal location to ship their goods. , , Thomas Ke Chittago , A member of the Ojibwe tribe and one of the first Union sharpshooters during the Civil War, Thomas Ke Chittago served as a sergeant in Company K, 1st Michigan Sharpshooters Regiment. He fought at Spotsylvania Court House and the capture of Petersburg. Ke Chittago moved to Grayling in 1867 and worked as a farmer, log driver and constable. He befriended David Shoppenagon and lumberman Nels Michelson before his death in 1916. , , Bear Archery Company , In the late 1940s...my dad, Merlyn Lavey...met bow-making legend Fred Bear [who] asked him to try out a new one.... When that big buck came by [Dad] drew the bow and it snapped. The composite was too brittle. My dad took the bow back to Fred, who examined it carefully and replaced it with a gift of a wood bow, which is still in our family. Fred patented a composite bow around 1950, so he must have kept working on the formula and gotten it right. , Kathleen Lavey , , Fred Bear was a pioneer in the archery world. His innovations, such as the bow quiver, have been used around the world and earned numerous patents. Bear also urged Michigan officials to implement the state's first archery deer season. , , In 1933, Fred Bear founded the Bear Archery company in Detroit. He moved the business to Grayling in 1947, where it ran for 31 years. The plant relocated to Florida in 1978. Bear Archery manufactured affordable recurve bows and longbows, which popularized archery and made the sport accessible to many.