Glen Haven

C. C. McCarty, brother-in-law of John E. Fisher, founder of Glen Arbor built a sawmill and an inn on the beach west of Glen Arbor in 1857. He called the settlement Sleeping Bearville and the inn was named Sleeping Bear House. McCarty built a dock at Glen Haven in 1865. The location of the dock in Sleeping Bear Bay offered a more protected harbor than some of the other docks in the area. McCarty also built a sawmill on Little Glen Lake where they used tugs to move logs from various parts of the lake to the sawmill and once the lumber was cut up, it was transferred to the Glen Haven dock by wagon or sled. By 1870, a tramway more than two miles long was built.
--from NPS Sleeping Bear Dunes site, Glen Haven page

Glen Haven is (as you can read above, especially via the link) a former lake-town that served the steamship trade in the Great Lakes.  After ships stopped calling in the early 1900s the area fell into disrepair and eventually the National Park Service eventually purchased the entire area.  I gather that during the summer it is a bustling area with interpreters and plenty to see.  Sadly when we visited everything was shuttered for the season.  We were able to see the outside of several buildings, but not much more than that.  Below is the Sleeping Bear Inn.

The Glen Haven Store normally serves as the visitor center in the area.  Sadly since it was closed I could not get a passport stamp--but I would definitely like to come back some time during the regular tourist season to be able to see

This boardwalk stretches through the entire town.  I can see how this would be especially useful before cheap concrete was available for sidewalks--and in areas like a beach this might be even better.

This is the blacksmith shop, which I believe operates as an actual shop during the summer.

This boat was located next to the beach.  I presume that it was either too large for the nearby museum building or deliberately out on display so that it could be seen in all seasons.  You can read more about it here.

The Aloha, part of the boat collection housed in the nearby Cannery, was built for fishing on the Great lakes.  She spent her days navigating deep waters of Lake Michigan gillnetting chubs--small, oily native fish especially prized as smoked fish.
--from exhibit signage

While Amy waited in the car I walked down to the beach.  There were several areas fenced off for restoration purposes, but it was a nice beach.  I imagine it is very nice in warmer weather--though I think the water of the Great Lakes usually stays cold.

I just changed my Facebook cover picture to this shot today.  I'm not the biggest beach lover, but I enjoyed the colors in this shot.

The beach wasn't completely sand.

This is the remnant of the great pier that once served the steamship trade.  After that trailed off the pier was allowed to deteriorate and only these pilings remain amidst the waves.

The old canning company building serves as a boat museum, but sadly again one that is only open during the tourist "season" in the summer.

Vintage signs (or replicas) are always fun to find.

David Henry Day came to Glen Haven in the mid-1800s as agent for the Northern Transportation Company.  A decade later, he had purchased the company, the town, and 5000 acres of adjacent timberland.  D.H. Day was a visionary; an entrepreneur...  He instituted a variety of sustainable forestry and logging practices still in use today.  DAy was one of the first people to plant fruit trees in the area.  Northern Michigan continues to produce a wide variety of fruit...  He donated land to the State of Michigan to creat its first state park and campground--what we now know as D. H. Day Campground.

To promote automobile tourism as a future industry for Glen Haven and the region, Day always properly graded the roads.  He personally financed the construction of M-109, which today is called the D. H. Day Highway, and was on the board of the West Michigan Pike.
--from exhibit signage

 For many years people could go drive on the dunes in cars with large balloon tires.  This activity was actually continued after the National Park Service took over, but when the person who started it passed away it was discontinued after a study concluded that damage was being done to the dunes.

I also found flowers like this on dunes later.

My last post about Sleeping Bear Dunes will feature the Dune Climb and the scenic drive.

~Matt