On Front Street at Union Street, on the left when traveling west on Front Street.
The "Empire Methodist Church" - built in 1895. The Empire Area Methodists gathered here for services, Sunday school, weddings and funerals till their new church was built in 1963. It is now the Masonic Temple. — — Map (db m98318) HM
Do you see her? The Sleeping Bear is the large dune about a mile away, perched along the edge of the bluff. She hardly looks like a bear now, but in August 1721, French historian Pierre Charlevoix canoed past the dunes and described "a kind of bush" . . . — — Map (db m208027) HM
Near Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive 2.1 miles west of South Dune Highway, on the right when traveling south.
…scarcely had we gotten out into Lake Michigan than we were beset by a horrible tempest and in an instant out rudder was broken to pieces…Not being able to control our course, we were during the night the toy of gigantic waves which . . . — — Map (db m208025) HM
Near Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive 2.1 miles west of South Dune Highway, on the right when traveling west.
Once, long ago, in the land called Wisconsin across the great lake, there was terrible hunger and many people died. A bear and two little cubs were trying to leave that place and come around the lake where there would be more food.
They . . . — — Map (db m208029) HM
On Niagara Street at Lake Michigan Drive, in the median on Niagara Street.
The Empire Lumber Company operated
from 1887 to 1917, dominating this once
booming lumber town. Empire, incorporated in 1895, derived its name
from the schooner “Empire” which was
icebound here during a storm in 1865.
George Aylsworth operated . . . — — Map (db m257317) HM
On Niagara Street at Lake Michigan Drive, in the median on Niagara Street.
The little village where natural quiet and beauty surround us was
not always like this. On the peaceful shore where the schooner
“Empire” foundered grew a bustling mill and village. While the
Sleeping Bear overlooked the scene, millions of feet . . . — — Map (db m257326) HM
On Niagara Street at Lake Michigan Drive, in the median on Niagara Street.
Empire is the Trail Head of the Michigan Riding and Hiking Trail.
This 234 mile shore to shore trail from Lake Michigan to Lake Huron was dedicated by Governor
George Romney in May of 1964. It represents the combined efforts of the Michigan . . . — — Map (db m257323) HM
More than fifty ships have wrecked along this stretch of Lake Michigan. These buildings housed the men of the United States Life Saving Service who guarded this hazardous shore. Equipped with line throwing cannons and rowing life boats, they . . . — — Map (db m100648) HM
On Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive, on the right when traveling north.
This picturesque view differs dramatically from what you would have seen were it not for the Great Depression.
As lumbering declined in the 1900s, tourism began to boom. Travel writers called Glen Lake the "Switzerland of America." Not one to miss . . . — — Map (db m282497) HM
Near Harbor Highway (Michigan Route 109) at D. J. Day Campground entrance.
By the end of World War I,
the rapid growth of the recreation
industry in Michigan, a need for a
state-wide parks system had arisen.
In 1919 the State Park Commission
was established. D. H. Day State Park,
honoring the commission's . . . — — Map (db m257310) HM
On Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive, on the right when traveling north.
More than 10,000 years ago, enormous rivers of ice covered the land in front of you. They gouged the earth like plows and left piles of sand and gravel called moraines in their wake. In fact, you're standing on one of those piles now! . . . — — Map (db m282494) HM
Near East Cherry Bend Road (County Road 633) 0.3 miles north of East Breithaupt Road, on the right when traveling north.
Henry Campbell's successful wheat and dairy farm was begun here in about 1860. The site includes buildings dating from 1860 to 1960 from impressive barns to modest migrant quarters. Some original buildings have been removed, some re-purposed, and . . . — — Map (db m213302) HM
Near East Cherry Bend Road (County Road 633) 0.3 miles north of East Breithaupt Road, on the right when traveling north.
The DeYoung family cherishes this land. In 2006, the family worked with the Leelanau Conservancy and Elmwood Township to permanently protect the farm and shoreline by establishing the DeYoung Natural Area. Cedar Lake was an important part of . . . — — Map (db m213301) HM
On W. River St west of Main Street, on the left when traveling west.
This commercial fishing district has provided a livelihood for residents of the town for over a century. Fishermen reached the fishing grounds of Lake Michigan by way of the Leland River (Carp River) using small sailboats until the introduction of . . . — — Map (db m76057) HM
On Harbor Highway (State Highway 22) at Bohemian Road (County Road 669), on the right when traveling west on Harbor Highway.
The first white settlement in Cleveland Township was established on this site Nov. 1, 1855, and was called North Unity. The Shaldas, Krubners, and Svobodas, were among the early settlers. Agnes Krubner Svoboda, in whose memory this plaque is . . . — — Map (db m98295) HM
On South Dunns Farm Road (County Route 675) 0.4 miles north of County Route 616, on the left when traveling north.
Residents of the logging community
of Burdickville held a picnic on
August 3, 1893, to honor two elderly
pioneers, Kasson Freeman and John
Fisher. High attendance at this
first picnic inspired the organizers
to hold one annually. In 1905 . . . — — Map (db m257309) HM
On North Lighthouse Point Road, on the right when traveling west.
1858: Erected by U.S. Lighthouse Service
1899: Fog Signal Building constructed
1900: Converted to a two family dwelling
1916: Kitchen added
1952: Modernized and electrified porch wings added
1972: Building closed. Automatic Light Tower . . . — — Map (db m162126) HM
On East Nagonaba Street 0.1 miles east of Bay Street, on the left when traveling east.
Great Lakes sport trolling was pioneered off Northport in the early 1920s. Traverse City native George Raff was the first to discover that lake trout could be caught by trolling in Grand Traverse Bay’s protected waters. Prior to this, trout . . . — — Map (db m204941) HM
On East Woolsey Lake Road (County Road 629) 1.2 miles north of North Northport Point Road (County Highway 640), on the left when traveling north.
Woolsey Family Farm
Around 1858, Chauncey and Caroline Woolsey moved with their children from Buffalo, New York, to Northport. Chauncey’s father, Adolphus Woolsey, a War of 1812 veteran, arrived with his wife Harriet soon after. Chauncey . . . — — Map (db m204999) HM
On Northwest Bay Shore Drive (State Road 22) 0.1 miles north of Omena Point Road, on the right when traveling north.
In 1839 the Reverend Peter Dougherty founded Old Mission, the first Protestant mission in the Grand Traverse area. The church, comprising Indians and whites, was organized in 1843. After 1850 the Indians were allowed to buy land; they and the . . . — — Map (db m204938) HM
Pierce Stocking, a native of northern Lower Michigan, worked as a lumberman and spent much of his leisure time in the woods. He wanted to share his love of nature with others and conceived the idea of constructing a scenic drive onto the Sleeping . . . — — Map (db m98312) HM
Without departed glaciers the dunes would not be here. Melting continental ice left this ridge of sand and gravel. Steady winds off Lake Michigan have plucked at the sand grains, propelling them inland, depositing a veneer of dunes on top of the . . . — — Map (db m98311) HM
In 1985, this wooden beam was placed here at the edge of the sand dune to measure dune movement. The numbers on the beam show how many feet the dune has advanced. Try to figure out the average rate pf movement per year.
The dune here rises to a . . . — — Map (db m98308) HM
On St. Joseph Street (State Highway 22) north of Madison Street, on the right when traveling north.
This plaque is issued by the
Historical Society of Michigan
in recognition of
Bahle's
Founded in 1876
For more than 100 years of
continuous operation in service
to the people of Michigan
and for contribution to the
economic . . . — — Map (db m98273) HM
On East Kolarik Road (County Route 626) at North Setterbo Road (County Route 637), on the left when traveling east on East Kolarik Road.
St. Wenceslaus Church and Cemetery
In the 1860s and 1870s settlers from Bohemia (now part of Czechoslovakia) came to this area and worked at the Leland Lake Superior Iron Foundry and the Gill sawmill. Catholics attended mass at the Holy Trinity . . . — — Map (db m205322) HM
On Government Center Drive north of Duck Lake Road ( Highway 204), on the left when traveling north.
This Veterans Memorial is dedicated to all who honorably served in the defense of our great nation, living or deceased, in peace or war, resident or nonresident. We pay special tribute to those who made the supreme sacrifice for America.
History . . . — — Map (db m98293) WM
On South Center Highway (County Highway 633) at East Bingham Road (County Road 618), on the right when traveling north on South Center Highway.
This school was erected in 1877 to replace a log structure built in 1870. The school has two rooms that housed grades one through eight. Older children attended school in Suttons Bay or Traverse City. Sunday school classes met here until 1888 when . . . — — Map (db m204878) HM
On SW Bay Shore Drive (State Road 22) at East Brewery Creek Lane, on the right when traveling north on SW Bay Shore Drive.
This village was first known as Norristown, in honor of Seth and Albert Norris who opened a gristmill here about 1853. In the mid-1850s Godfrey Greilick and sons, natives of Bohemia, built a small, water-powered sawmill. The steam powered Greilick . . . — — Map (db m204877) HM
