Port Huron History and Local Attractions

Huron: The Seasons of a Great Lake by Napier Shelton Napier Shelton takes us on a journey as he spends a year at his family's cottage on the lake. Having visited Lake Huron for over thirty years, Shelton weaves family memories into his evocative and informed account of the seasons on this great lake. In 1995, Shelton spent a year at the cottage more fully exploring Lake Huron and its varied shores. He writes about Native American fishing rights, small towns, the fearsome ice, and the migration of birds. He follows the seasonal changes of life in the water. We accompany him on commercial fishing boats, a research vessel studying lake trout, and a Coast Guard icebreaker. We experience the travels and tragedies of venturers on Lake Huron over the past four centuries. Huron is pleasurable reading for any student of natural history or the Great Lakes region, or for anyone who has ever spent time at a summer cottage or wished to do so.

Ladies of the Lights: Michigan Women in the U.S. Lighthouse Service by Patricia Majher "A great read about some great ladies, Pat Majher's Ladies of the Lights pays long overdue homage to an overlooked part of Great Lakes maritime history in which a select group of stalwart women beat the odds to succeed in a field historically reserved for men." ---Terry Pepper, Executive Director of Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association Michigan once led the country in the number of lighthouses, and they're still a central part of the mystique and colorful countryside of the state. What even the region's lighthouse enthusiasts might not know is the rich history of female lighthouse keepers in the area. Fifty women served the sailing communities on Lakes Huron, Michigan, and Superior, as well as on the Detroit River, for more than 100 years. From Catherine Shook, who raised eight children while maintaining the Pointe Aux Barques light at the entrance to Saginaw Bay; to Eliza Truckey, who assumed responsibility for the lighthouse in Marquette while her husband fought for four years in the Civil War; to Elizabeth Whitney, whose combined service on Beaver Island and in Harbor Springs totaled forty-one years---the stories of Michigan's "ladies of the light" are inspiring. This is no technical tome documenting the minutiae of Michigan's lighthouse specifications. Rather, it's a detailed, human portrait of the women who kept those lighthouses running, defying the gender expectations of their time. Patricia Majher is Editor of Michigan History magazine, published by the Historical Society of Michigan. Prior, she was Assistant Director of the Michigan Women's Historical Center and Hall of Fame in Lansing, Michigan. In addition, she has been writing both advertising and editorial copy for almost thirty years and has been a frequent contributor to Michigan newspapers and magazines.

November's Fury: The Deadly Great Lakes Hurricane of 1913 by Michael Schumacher On Thursday, November 6, the Detroit News forecasted "moderate to brisk" winds for the Great Lakes. On Friday, the Port Huron Times-Herald predicted a "moderately severe" storm. Hourly the warnings became more and more dire. Weather forecasting was in its infancy, however, and radio communication wasn't much better; by the time it became clear that a freshwater hurricane of epic proportions was developing, the storm was well on its way to becoming the deadliest in Great Lakes maritime history. The ultimate story of man versus nature, November's Fury recounts the dramatic events that unfolded over those four days in 1913, as captains eager--or at times forced--to finish the season tried to outrun the massive storm that sank, stranded, or demolished dozens of boats and claimed the lives of more than 250 sailors. This is an account of incredible seamanship under impossible conditions, of inexplicable blunders, heroic rescue efforts, and the sad aftermath of recovering bodies washed ashore and paying tribute to those lost at sea. It is a tragedy made all the more real by the voices of men--now long deceased--who sailed through and survived the storm, and by a remarkable array of photographs documenting the phenomenal damage this not-so-perfect storm wreaked. The consummate storyteller of Great Lakes lore, Michael Schumacher at long last brings this violent storm to terrifying life, from its first stirrings through its slow-mounting destructive fury to its profound aftereffects, many still felt to this day.

St. Clair County, MI: Its History and Its People by William Lee Jenks A narrative history of the settling of St. Clair County.

Three Fires Unity : The Anishnaabeg of the Lake Huron Borderlands by Philip C. Bellfy The Lake Huron area of the Upper Great Lakes region, an area spreading across vast parts of the United States and Canada, has been inhabited by the Anishnaabeg for millennia. Since their first contact with Europeans around 1600, the Anishnaabeg have interacted with--and struggled against--changing and shifting European empires and the emerging nation-states that have replaced them. Through their cultural strength, diplomatic acumen, and a remarkable knack for adapting to change, the Anishnaabeg of the Lake Huron Borderlands have reemerged as a strong and vital people, fully in charge of their destiny in the twenty-first century.   Winner of the North American Indian Prose Award, this first comprehensive cross-border history of the Anishnaabeg provides an engaging account of four hundred years of their life in the Lake Huron area, showing how they have been affected by European contact and trade. Three Fires Unity examines how shifting European politics and, later, the imposition of the Canada-United States border running through their homeland, affected them and continues to do so today. In looking at the cultural, social, and political aspects of this borderland contact, Phil Bellfy sheds light on how the Anishnaabeg were able to survive and even thrive over the centuries in this intensely contested region.

Thumb Diggings: Adventures into Michigan's Thumb Area by Neva DuMond Covers the local history of many communities in the thumb area.

The Charter of the City of Port Huron by Port Huron, MI

Port Huron, 1880-1960 by T. J. Gaffney In this wonderful collection of images, discover Port Huron as it once was. Although Port Huron is now referred to as the "Maritime Capital of the Great Lakes," its initial growth happened because it was a point where roads, rails, and water all met to create the center of commerce it became. Return to a time when people rode streetcars and interurbans, took day trips to Detroit on ships such as the Tashmoo and the Greyhound; when they worked and shopped in downtown stores; and when they lived in diverse ethnic neighborhoods such as South Park and the First Ward. Many of the postcards seen here were mailed at or near the beginning of the 20th century and were a way to communicate basic information between friends and family. These images have now returned to introduce a new generation to what Port Huron once was. In an age where e-mails instantly travel back and forth, it can be hard to imagine how those receiving these messages anxiously awaited what messages arrived with these penny postcards.

St. Clair County, Michigan Atlas by LandGrafix, Inc.

Blue Water Reflections: A Pictorial History of Port Huron and the St. Clair River District by Mary C. Burnell Photographs and history of Port Huron.

Huron County, Michigan by Huron County Historical Society Staff Huron County, Michigan, was organized by the Michigan legislature in 1859 and quickly became known for its abundant natural resources-in particular, lumber. In the summer of 1881, disaster struck, as 1,500 square miles of forest burned. Huron County rose again, replacing lumbering with agriculture as its major industry. This agricultural tradition, along with commercial fishing, continues to this day. In Huron County, Michigan the Huron County Historical Society showcases the histories of the communities of Bad Axe, Bay Port and Ora Labora, Caseville, Elkton, Harbor Beach and Port Hope, Pigeon, Port Austin, Sebewaing, Ubly, and White Rock, using over 200 vintage photographs. Stop by the Caseville Mercantile or visit the old Caseville High School. Go back in time to the 1933 Sebewaing Farmers and Merchants parade that wound its way through the downtown area. A 1920s Prohibition scene comes to life in Bad Axe as Deputy Duncan McKenzie dumps illegal whiskey into the sewer at the site of today's "old City Hall."

Lost Towns of Eastern Michigan by Alan Naldrett 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.

Michigan's Thumb Drive: A Ride Around M-25, Michigan's Blue Water Highway by Michael J. Thorp "MICHIGAN'S THUMB DRIVE" is a trip through Michigan's Thumb, it's also a history of Michigan, a geological survey and a travel guide. Michael J. Thorp tells stories of people, hard work and hard luck: legends of natural disasters, opportunity and riches and of failure and loss. Tales of presidents and war heroes, famous inventors and explorers, simple farmers and sophisticated Ivy League professors; it's all here in one trip around Michigan's Thumb. *Why did the terrified founders of the little community on Lake Huron call it Port Hope? *Who might be the most important political figure to come out of Michigan's Thumb? *What famous billionaire's fortune can be traced to his father's first job in the Thumb? *How did a telephone pole and an old street light change a Thumb community forever?

Port Huron: Celebrating Our Past 1857-2007 by Sight Creative, Inc. Photographs and history of Port Huron.

Rails Around the Thumb by T. J. Gaffney Discover how important railroads once were to Michigan's Thumb region in this wonderful collection of images. Although the area is best known for its agrarian roots, the railroad operations were involved in so much more, from light industries that fed the auto industry to shipments of fish from Saginaw Bay into eastern markets. Return to a time when everyone knew the route of the "Polly-Ann," local citizens identified the time of day by the sound of a train whistle, and the arrival of a train crew nearly doubled a town's population. Many of the images in this book have never been seen before, or, if so, only in a family's living room, soon to be returned to grandpa's trunk in the attic. These images surfaced to introduce future generations to what railroading in the Thumb once was. In an age when many of these railroad lines have disappeared, it can be hard to believe how many once crisscrossed this area.

Search for the House in the Grove: Archaeological Excavation of the Boyhood Homesite of Thomas A. Edison in Port Huron, MI by Richard B. Stamps Discussion of the archaeological search for and excavation of Edison's Port Huron home.

Traveling Michigan's Thumb: Exploring a Shoreline of Small Pleasures and Unexpected Treasures by Julie Albrecht Royce Michigan's Thumb remains its undiscovered jewel. Leave behind the four and six lane highways, the deadlines, the pressures of everyday life and prepare to relax. With the majestic Lake Huron Shoreline as your map and this insider's guide showing you where to stop along the way, you are in for a day, a weekend, or a summer's worth of enjoyment.

The Unabridged Blue Water Bridge History by Eric Poersch History of the Blue Water Bridge.

The New History of Michigan's Thumb by Gerard Schultz A concise history of Michigan's Thumb area.

When Eastern Michigan Rode the Rails: The Rapid Railway and Detroit-Port Huron By Rail-Ship-Bus by Mac Sebree; William Henning; Jack E. Schramm History of the railways between Port Huron and Detroit.