On County Route 441 at Railroad Street, on the right when traveling north on County Route 441.
A total of 4,615 people were affected by the fire, including 150 families who were
completely burned out and another 80 partially burned out. Another 700 families
experienced small losses.
A massive relief effort was mounted to provide the . . . — — Map (db m247246) HM
On County Route 441 at Railroad Street, on the right when traveling north on County Route 441.
Ernest Bicknell was appointed National Director of Relief Operations for the American Red Cross following its 1908 re-organization. He started his job on October 1st and his first challenge was the Metz fire. Along with President J. D. Hawks and . . . — — Map (db m247103) HM
On Leer Road at Long Lake Highway, on the right when traveling south on Leer Road.
According to local historians,
Prussian immigrant Michael Elowsky fled
the political turmoil
brewing in Eastern Europe
in 1862. He settled in
Detroit, was joined by his
family, and migrated to
Presque Isle County around
1870. Prior to 1885 . . . — — Map (db m233734) HM
On Michigan Avenue (Michigan Route 65) north of State Street, on the left when traveling north.
(English)
In memory of our common ancestors, who left their
homes in the vicinity of Poznań, Poland and established
the town of Posen in the New World 1870.
—The citizens of Poznań, Poland and Posen, Michigan, . . . — — Map (db m233684) HM
On Michigan Avenue just north of East State Street, on the left when traveling south.
This memorial is dedicated
to all the men and women
who served their country
to preserve freedom in the world
as soldiers, sailors, marines.
air men and merchant marines
from World War One
to the present time.
Many of these . . . — — Map (db m247101) WM
On County Route 441 at Railroad Street, on the right when traveling north on County Route 441.
This photo shows the area around the Metz depot of the Detroit & Mackinac Railway
(D&M) after the fire. The photo was taken from the approximate location of this sign. The
workers are digging at the location previously occupied by the depot. The . . . — — Map (db m247244) HM
On Route 441 at Railroad Street, on the right when traveling north on Route 441.
The first settlers in the northern Michigan wilderness area that later became Metz Township
were four German immigrant farmers who took up homesteads shortly after passage of the
Homestead Act of 1862. In the 1870s, the first Polish immigrants . . . — — Map (db m247106) HM
Near County Route 441 at Railroad Street, on the right when traveling north.
The growth of the settlement at Metz was directly attributable to the establishment of a
Detroit & Mackinac (D&M) Railway depot there in 1895. While the depot was closed the
following year, it reopened in 1901 and continued to serve the community . . . — — Map (db m247217) HM
On County Road 441 at Railroad Street and the North Eastern State Trail, on the right when traveling north on County Road 441.
On October 15, 1908, raging fires
swept the pine forests of Presque
Isle County. When the flames approached the village of Metz, a train
jammed with women and children left
for Posen, five miles away. At
Nowicki's siding, two miles out . . . — — Map (db m233736) HM
Near County Route 441 at Railroad Street, on the right when traveling north.
The Metz Fire of 1908 began west of Millersburg sometime on the morning of October 15, 1908.
Driven along by gale force winds, by that night the fire had burned all the way to the Lake Huron shore
and threatened to destroy the two lighthouses . . . — — Map (db m247102) HM
On Michigan Avenue (Michigan Route 65) north of State Street, on the right when traveling north.
The first utility pole set
by Presque Isle Electric
Cooperative was erected near
this site on September 22,
1937. Established in 1935,
the Rural Electrification
Administration (REA) was a
New Deal program designed
to help cooperatives . . . — — Map (db m233652) HM
On County Route 441 at Railroad Street, on the right when traveling north on County Route 441.
In the Metz area, 84 of 110 families were left homeless in the aftermath of the horrendous
fire. With frost already settling over the area and the brutal northern Michigan winter not far
off, providing adequate shelter for the survivors was a . . . — — Map (db m247245) HM
