Silver Lake Area, Michigan
The vast sand dunes of the Silver Lake area were once
lush, densely wooded with pine, hemlock and hardwood trees. The abundance
of trees was an invitation to the lumber industry to harvest them and a
sawmill was constructed on the south side of the Silver Lake Channel. Near
that site, the lumberjack boarding house, built by Charles Mears, still
stands today. In those days, a steam barge carried the lumber from Little
Point Sable to Chicago. By 1880, most of the pine trees had been removed
and fifteen years later the hemlock were gone. The remaining shifting
sands covered farms and homes, but today are a major tourist attraction in
western Michigan.
After the sinking of “The Pride” off Little Point
Sable in 1871, a lighthouse was approved and was completed in 1874.
Materials were brought in by ship as the railroad was several miles away
and the site was desolate with almost no access from the land side. The
Little Sable Point Lighthouse remains in operation today, by automation
since 1954, and tours are held during the summer months.
When the railroad came in the early 1870’s, Silver
Lake began to be a haven for vacationers who would come by train to Mears
from Chicago. One of the first resorts in the area was the Floradale
Resort created by Malcolm Wood who had come to the area from Decatur,
Illinois. Dune rides were eventually added and Silver Lake began to grow
as one of Michigan’s favorite resort areas.
Today Silver Lake has become a tourist Mecca with many and varied
attractions.
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