Fayette, Manistique and Beaver Island

On June 30^th we left Sister Bay – Goodbye, Wisconsin!  Goodbye, cheese curds! Goodbye, Central Time Zone! – and set our sights on Fayette, Michigan. We wisely bypassed a cruise through the infamous Porte des Morts Passage (also known as Death’s Door) separating the Door Peninsula from Plum Island.  As we approached the entrance to Snail Shell Harbor on Big Bay de Noc, our cell phone screens alerted us with the dreaded words – ‘searching for service’.  We had arrived at the ghost town of Fayette and cell phone service was no more.

Dolomite cliffs at entrance to Snail Shell Harbor

Fayette is located on Snail Shell Harbor on the southern side of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. In the mid 1800’s, transporting raw iron ore from the U.P. to the foundries on the lower Great Lakes was tremendously expensive.  Fayette Brown chose this site close to the Escanaba ore docks for the Jackson Iron Company to erect a blast furnace to smelt the ore into pig iron, which was more economical to ship.  From 1867 to 1891, the Jackson Iron Company employed 500 people here.  They used hardwood from the forest for fuel and limestone from the bluffs for purification of the iron ore.  During the 24 years the company was in operation, Fayette was a prosperous company town.  However, in 1891 the smelting operation shut down due to a decline in the charcoal ore market and the town was abandoned.  Today visitors can walk through this well-preserved ghost town and wander among twenty of the original structures.

The Superintendent's house

The workshop and hotel

The company store

Two power boats and three sail boats docked for the night within sight of the ruins of Fayette. We hoped for a clear cloudless night for star gazing.  It didn’t happen. L

The furnace complex in the early evening light

Onward to Manistique, the top of Lake Michigan.  Our 48-mile run on July 1^st was perhaps the chilliest of the season.  While winds were relatively calm in Snail Shell Harbor, out on Big Bay de Noc the winds were strong and gusty.  Luckily, the waves were not a problem and the cruise, while uncomfortably chilly, was smooth.  We arrived at Manistique Municipal Marina via an ugly docking maneuver – we will blame it on the wind and the river current and the unknown depth of the submerged something-or-other forward of our spot on the river wall.  Enough said about that!

A parade in downtown Manistique was just ending upon our arrival at the marina, but a small 4^th of July art/craft fair was in full swing at the adjacent park.  American flags fluttered in the now calm wind; farm tractors were available for the kids to climb aboard; BBQ and sno-cones were hawked by several food trucks; the smell of freshly popped popcorn wafted through the air.  Ah, small town Americana!

Manistique Living Waters Memorial sculpture – dedicated in 2015 the sculpture in the shape of the Upper Peninsula celebrates the generations of people and businesses, past and present, who have been the stewards of the resources of this community.

 

There are plenty of places in town to purchase legal fireworks and many of the Yoopers (a proud moniker of the residents of the Upper Peninsula) were shooting them off prior to the official fireworks display.  The intermittent boom from these early revelers mixed with the sounds of the dueling bands – one playing in the park and one simultaneously playing under the tent just a few hundred feet away at the Mackinaw Trail Winery and Brewery!? The rain that began at dusk did not seem to dampen the spirits of anyone along the riverfront. By 10:30 the rain was a mere drizzle and it was finally dark enough for the official town fireworks extravaganza to begin.



Waiting along the Manistique River for fireworks to begin

We awoke to a brisk 49⁰ morning and decided to stay one more day in Manistique in hopes that the wind and rain would subside.  While the town was a hub of hustle and bustle yesterday, July 2^nd it was deserted.  Even the boaters in the marina had left and we had the place all to ourselves. 

Manistique Municipal Marina from across the river at Trader Bob’s – nothing much happening at either place!

Next stop - Beaver Island on July 3^rd.  We had a delightful 43-mile cruise to St. James Harbor where the water is so incredibly clear you can see right to the bottom.  We were last here in August of 2002 – not much seems to have changed downtown since then. 

Entrance to St. James Harbor with Emerald Isle ferry arriving from Charlevoix - as seen from our dock at the Municipal Marina

Beaver Island is the largest island in Lake Michigan and has a year-round population of about 650 hearty souls.  The Emerald Isle ferry brings crowds of summertime tourists from the mainland to enjoy the serenity of the island and its crystalline water.  The municipal marina hosted plenty of transient boaters on this 4^th of July weekend.

At 11am the residents had staked their claim to the best spots along Main Street for watching the parade that would not start until 2pm!

After a quick stroll through town we launched the dinghy for a cruise around the harbor.  As we were returning to Lazy W we were buzzed by one of the float planes that was about to land in front of us!

The 4^th of July parade drew every resident, transient boater, tourist and cottage renter to Main Street at 2:00.  Led by the sheriff’s car, a contingent of proud local veterans and other jaunty marchers joined a few floats from Central Michigan University and the Chippewa nation, three fire trucks, several ambulances and one bag-piper.  When they all got to the end of the parade route, they turned around and did it again!  The day ended with a small  boat parade and a fireworks display over the harbor.
 



The float by the Friends of the Ferries

There is a strange historical note to Beaver Island’s past.  In 1847 a renegade Mormon named James Strang arrived here and proclaimed himself king of all Beaver Island.  The resident Irish and Native American Chippewas were none too happy.  Declaring yourself king can also irk the U.S. government – he was tried for treason and other crimes in 1850.  Strang was acquitted and later elected by his Beaver Island constituents to the Michigan legislature.  In 1856 a band of angry men assassinated him as he was on his way to meet the captain of the USS Michigan docked in St. James Harbor.  His shooters were brought to the mainland where they were hailed as heroes and set free.  Soon after a mob drove the remainder of his followers off the island and so ended the first and only kingdom to exist in the United States.