Schoolcraft County’s history is as deep as the forests and lakes which attracted its original Native American settlers, and the generations of pioneers who discovered --- and continue to discover --- what this beautiful area has to offer.
The first Europeans believed to have visited the area were members of French explorer Jean Nicolet’s expedition, who passed through the area in the summer of 1634 in search of a route to the Orient (they got as far as Green Bay). In the fall of 1679, Rene Robert de La Salle visited the area abroad the Griffen, the first sailing ship to ply the Great Lakes.
The early Native American residence, most of whom were members of the Ojibwa tribe, settled around Indian Lake and at the mouth of the French-named Manistique River. In 1832, the “Snowshoe Bishop” Fredric Baraga established a Catholic mission on the eastern shore of Indian Lake. It was also during this time that Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, Michigan’s first Indian Agent and the county’s namesake, was mapping the area, documenting the lives of tribal residence and negotiate treaties. Schoolcraft County was officially organized in 1871, with Manistique designated as the county seat.
The county’s first major industry was lumber. Beginning in the early 1880s, logging companies began extracting timber from the vast forests of white pine. The little town of Seney, with its rail access to St. Ignace and Marquette, and river route to Manistique, became a center of the logging boom. During its heyday, Seney was a bustling town of more than 20 saloons, 10 hotels, several stores and about 3,000 residents.
Much of the timber harvested from the county’s forests was floated down the river to Manistique, where it was milled, loaded on ships and sent to communities around the Great Lakes and beyond. But by the turn of the century, what had seemed inexhaustible resources was gone: The forests had been stripped, and the reign of “King Pine” was over.
Southwest of Manistique, on the Garden Peninsula in Delta County, is the site of another major 19th century industry. During the mid-1800s raw iron ore was being shipped at tremendous expense from the Upper Peninsula mines to the foundries in the lower Great Lakes. To make the process more cost-effective, a smelting operation was built at Fayette. From 1867 until it closed in 1891, Fayette’s blast furnaces produced more than 229,000 tons of iron, using local hardwood for fuel and native limestone t purify the iron ore.
Despite the demise of the timber and iron ore industries, many Schoolcraft residents stayed on, supporting their families through fishing, farming, and small business. Pulpwood and paper manufacturing, and limestone mining and processing, developed into major industries. The area’s abundant wildlife, temperate summers and clear lakes and rivers had long been a favorite vacation retreat from the hustle and bustle of the Midwest’s cities, and with the increase in winter-related recreation, tourism grew into a major component of the county’s economy.
Residences are proud of their area’s rich heritage, and they keep their history alive at a number of museums and historic sites. The Bishop Baraga Mission and Indian Cemetery, at Indian Lake, features replicas of the early log mission and surrounding bark dwellings. Manistique is a jumping of point to visit four historic Upper Peninsula lighthouses: the Manistique East Breakwater Light, Seul Choix Point Lighthouse and Museum, Peninsula Point Lighthouse and Sand point Lighthouse and Museum.
The Schoolcraft County Historical Park, in Manistique, features a museum and a historic 200-foot-tall brick water tower which has recently been restored. The 80-year-old structure, listed on the National and State historic registries, is located near the city’s unique Siphon Bridge. The bridge is part of a concrete flume built in 1919 to channel water to the paper mill.
Fayette State Historic Park features a museum, and a ghost town of 19 structures that includes several public and commercial building, residences and the ruins of the blast furnace complex. From ghost towns to lighthouses, Schoolcraft County offers fun and education insights into the past for visitors of all ages.
