Tag Archives: Michigan

Fayette State Park, Fayette, Michigan

This image is taken from almost the same location as the previous posting, showing the area of Fayette, Michigan, now Fayette State Park. Some of the buildings visible in the previous image have been demolished or are obscured by trees.

Stade Select Card Company, Escanaba, Mich.


The description states:
FA-2 Fayette State Park, famed beauty spot of Michigan’s garden peninsula. Limestone cliffs and rocky shores, the ruins of the old smelters and the other buildings of the once-busy furnace town create unusual scenic and historical interest.
–The white object in the middle of the image appears to be an egret in flight.
This card likely dates from the 1950s.

Fayette, Michigan

The image here shows the buildings and surroundings of the iron smelting complex that operated at Fayette, Michigan. The body of water in the foreground is Snail Shell Harbor, a protected cove on the northern side of Lake Michigan.

E.C. Kropp Co., Milwaukee, Wis.


There is no description on the back of the card. The main smelter buildings are at the left. Beyond the town is Big Bay De Noc, which is connected to Lake Michigan.

Diver, Big Bay de Noc, Fayette, Michigan

This image begins a series of views highlighting the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, an area promoted as the Land of Hiawatha. This photo is of a diver and assistant preparing to dive the waters of Big Bay De Noc.

The L.L. Cook Co., Milwaukee, WI


The description states:
340-V
A deep sea diver ready to hunt for the alleged hidden treasure in Big Bay De Noc at Fayette, Michigan.
 
–It is not clear what the diver has in his hand. The tank and suit are not typical of a deep sea diver, but more of the shallow diver that used SCUBA gear, which was a fairly new invention at the time of this image.
The postcard is dated 1958.

Bluff Overlooking Lake of the Clouds, Ontonagon County, Mich.

This image shows the bluff of a large hill from the Lake of the Clouds, a lake in Ontonagon County, Michigan, in the Upper Peninsula.
The description “far end of the lake” implies the bluff is downstream from the inflow to the lake, which is fed and drained by the Carp River.
This card likely dates from the 1940s.

Toonerville Trolley, Newberry, Mich.

This image displays the unique transportation method used in the mid-20th century for tourists to visit the Tahquamenon River area. The name is from a popular cartoon of the early 20th century called Toonerville Folks. The name has been used by other public transport methods elsewhere in the United States.

Toonerrville Trolley, Tahquamenon boat trip Newberry – Mich. L.L. Cook Co. 1941


The casual seating arrangements, particularly evident at the back of the trolley where tourists are seated on the trailing edge of the car, are indicative of a trolley that moves very slowly across flat land. Another image, posted on this site some months ago, shows later development of the cars used for passengers and the type of motive power for the trolley.
This card is dated 1941 on the front.

Tahquamenon River View, Soo Junction, Mich.

This placid photo features a small section of the Tahquamenon River near the village of Soo Junction, Michigan. It is not an incorporated town, only a populated area named by the locals as a convenience. This is in the upper peninsula of Michigan, in Luce County.

The L.L. Cook Co., Milwaukee, WI


The Tahquamenon River flows through the center of the upper peninsula of Michigan on it’s way to the mouth at Lake Superior.
This card is dated on the front 1948.

Tahquamenon Falls, Newberry, Mich.

This is again an image similar to one previously posted some months ago. It is obviously the same location from the prominent ‘bulge’ of water near the center of the falls present in both pictures.

The L.L. Cook Co., Milwaukee, WI


The people shown in the photo at lower left are wearing clothing that indicates this image is from the 1940s. Close examination of the picture reveals another person on a ledge just behind the falls.

Tahquamenon River Tour Boat, Newberry, Mich.

This is another image of a boat featured some months back. This image is closer in and in black and white, but otherwise the images are remarkably similar in that the boat does not appear to have been replaced, and the tourist still occupy the usual locations.

The boat itself is also called the Tahquamenon, as indicated by the name sign visible in the picture.
The brown marking in the upper right is damage from a decomposed rubber band. This image is hard to date, but is likely from the 1940s.
There is no description on the back.

Highway 115 Milepost, Frankfort, Michigan

This is the somewhat overbuilt signpost for Michigan highway M-115, which has one end in central lower Michigan and continues to the northwest where it ends at this sign.
The highway was originally earthen pavement when first constructed in 1929, but by the mid-30s the state was repaving the existing sections with asphalt and extending the highway with gravel as well.
There is no description on the back of this card. The auto in the picture, along with the initial construction date, indicate that this photo is from the 1930s.