Known today as Power Island and occasionally referred to as Ford Island (or Marion Island), it is open to the public and maintained by the Grand Traverse County Parks & Recreation Department. M-35 document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. That's right near the Douglass Houghton Falls.Curtis said he's always wondered how, The Huron Mountain Club: The first 100 years, Judge: Oxford Schools, staff immune from shooting lawsuits, Flint launching new public notification system, Winter storm brings thundersnow, airport closure, and more power outages, New effort to expand MI low-income tax credit introduced in Lansing, Michigan lawmakers introduce legislation to ban life sentences for those 18 and under, Medical historian: The pandemic's not over, and COVID-19 is still a deadly disease, Gov. towards Rt. We went into this story knowing this about the club, but still made a lot of attempts to get an exception -- to no avail. From the Marquette-Negaunee area, the former M-35 route exists as rather Ford was known to frequent the Au Sable Trout and Game Club, founded in 1908, and The Douglas House (also known as the Douglas Hotel), which opened in 1916 and later expanded into the North Branch Outing Club (where the membership rate was $25 per year, plus $3 per day for meals). And I think that explains in large part how the club has been able to survive for as long as it has, because these people are, and I think quite rightfully, devoted to something they have really created of their own.". Their next trip was delayed by the war, but in 1918 Ford was able to join them, with an even larger entourage, and the four men started going on annual camping trips to mountains and wilderness areas in the eastern United States. 550 North; proceed straight for about 24 miles, When in Bay Bay, turn left in front of the Thunder Bay Hotel (Sign is a large ships wheel); follow the road around a curve to the right; go past the cemetery on the left. (Main entrance to Northern Michigan University is across Wright Street from the convenience store), Turn left after mile at the T intersection to stay on Rt. Back in the 50's the government was considering making this area a National Park but the deep wallets of the club members convinced them otherwise. And when is knowledge free? In 1928, the road was rerouted to skirt the Huron Mountain Club property and in 1929 Henry Ford was voted in as a primary member. The Upper Peninsula is also not very large and its surrounded on three sides by Lake Superior, Lake Huron, and Lake Michigan. The project site is on land owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in relation to the operation of the . As mentioned, Henry and Clara first tried to join in 1917, but the official history of the club says that Fords public image and fame concerned members that his membership might bring unwanted attention and publicity. fact the gap was not signed until after that Also, Henry was exceptionally wealthy and powerful and perhaps members thought he would make a caricature of their own wealth and power. Edison) to the area on travelling expeditions. Dismayed by Burroughs essays, in a bit of personal lobbying, Ford sent the writer a Model T as a gift hoping to persuade him that the personal automobile made it possible for people to visit and enjoy nature. The history of the United States is the history of private property and the privatization of the non-human world. By proceeding, you consent to receive calls and texts at the By 1914 Ford Motor Company was selling over 200,000 Model Ts a year, and more roads were needed to keep pace. Several portions of these lakeshore The property was sold in 1944, when Ford was 81 years old. Over the course of his career, he acquired over 313,000 acres of timberland for logging, operated several mill sites and owned several towns. five miles east of Skanee. Ford also was fond of the fresh waters of Lake Michigan and Grand Traverse Bay. Visitors now frequent Big Bay for its Huron Mountains access, Lake Superior harbor, Lake Independence fishing, and unique lodgings. One of the NHAs first projects was publishing a map of its proposed system of National Highways, a 50,000 mile network of roads that Davis characterized as a broad and comprehensive system of National Highways, built, owned, and maintained by the National Government. The association cited defense and military purposes to promote its system of national highways, presaging one of the Eisenhower administrations rationales for starting the Interstate Highway system in the 1950s. Still somewhat secretive today, the Huron Mountain Club is a private reserve occupying about 20,000 acres of timberland and lakes in the Huron Mountains, a small chain that rises to about 2000 feet on the east side of Keewenaw Bay, part of Lake Superior. Kingsford, developed charcoal briquettes from wood waste. In the late teens, the area of the Huron Mountains was still only served by logging roads and unimproved two-tracks. from US-41/M-28 (between The Huron Mountain Club, a private club reported to encompass somewhere between 10,000 to 20,0000 acres, does not dispute that fact. Buying land in Fullerton. Huron Mountain is a private club on a contiguous tract of woodland located within the Huron Mountains region of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, 30 miles northwest of the city of Marquette. To give you an idea of how much power and influence Henry Ford personally had, Michigans Public Service Commission granted Ford, a private individual, the right of eminent domain to seize land adjacent to dam sites in Michigan for his Village Industries project. This tract is wild, so with the exception of a well-worn path to White Deer Lake, where the McCormicks lodge once stood, youll be traveling cross-country. Driving from Marquette to the Clubs main office (from Wright Street), Head north at the roundabout with a convenience store on the corner onto Sugarloaf Rd. The club has definitely purchased more land in the last 10 years. Fisher said it would cost $10 million to build. well. Huron Mountain Club. He and Edsel Ford did become members of the Au Sable Trout and Game Club, better known locally as the Dam Four Club, as it was located where the former logging dam, known as Dam 4 was situated on the North Branch of the Au Sable River, says Rob Burg, director of the Lovells Historical Museums. It seems like the first rule of the Huron Mountain Club, is: dont talk about the Huron Mountain Club. By 1910, the state of Michigan required residents to register their vehicles and display license plates. The League of American Wheelmen founded the Good Roads Movement and the Good Roads magazine. Want updates when Huron Mountain Club has new . work performed, if any. of northwestern Marquette and northeastern Baraga counties, then southwesterly access to the constructed portions of the proposed M-35 route. Project Information OC Parks is planning to construct, operate, and maintain the Craig Park Bike Facility, a 9.7-acre mountain bike skills course facility for all ages and abilities. To help his causethat of Drivers education wouldnt be required for years to come. So, without further ado, here are 13 things we know about the Huron Mountain Club: According to our data (circa 2006 plat maps of Marquette County), the club owns 18,621 acres of land, plus 1,905 acres of lakes that are completely surrounded by club land, which is more than 20,000 acres in total (the equivalent of eight Mackinac Islands). Henry Ford grew up on a farm and had a great love of the outdoors, which he advocating accessing by means of the automobile. Sara Thomas is a Literary Studies Ph.D. student in the English Department at the University of WisconsinMadison and a member of the Edge Effects editorial board. This is where Henry Ford and the future of M-35 crossed Backtracking So, as 17-year-old boys, we lost our nerve.". She is especially interested in the archipelagic and oceanic networks of U.S. empire making and the affective, aesthetic, and ecological effects of these material and metaphorical relations. AuthorArcher Mayorwas hired by the members to write a history about the club to celebrate its 100th anniversary in 1989. July 1, 1939 trunkline status maps show the route, while the July 15, 1939 (Considering Longyear originally developed the rustic property with an eye towards steamship passengers, theres a certain irony to this logic.). a large sume (quivalent to millions of dollars today)! The Steel Bridge is now closed to vehicular traffic, but remains opens for pedestrians and non-motorized transportation. Those members have to cover a property tax bill thats close to $2 million these days. He rarely traveled alone. But, it remained a rustic island where he, Edison and Firestone explored the shoreline and trails (while their wives stayed in town at the Park Place Hotel), according to local historian Kathleen Firestone, author of An Island in Grand Traverse Bay.. On this McCormick chose the site for a cluster of log and stone cabins,a grand camp, unparalleled anywhere in the world. Well, it all started when Elizabeth Lindau posed this question to our MI Curious project: "Can I get into the Huron Mountain Club? As previously mentioned they own around 20,000 acres of some of the nicest scenery in the mountains. 906 345-9323, Conflict of Interest Policy | 609 N Mountain View Pl, Fullerton, CA 92831 is for sale. Required fields are marked *. between Negaunee and central Baraga County east of Covington. He then hired To quote the book: by 1985, [the numbers] were fifty [Regular Members], one hundred and nine [Associate Members,] and twelve Senior Associate Members. Thats all because a man who helped persuade the federal government and states to start funding highway construction subsequently used his personal power to stop a public road from being built, just so he could join a club that he quit soon afterwards. Eminent domain is a monopoly generally reserved to governments. The town has swung from prosperity to near ghost-town status more than once, first as a bustling logging outpost, then as one of Henry Fords company towns, home to busy sawmills. Naubinway and St Ignace and US-23 between The 52 matching properties for sale near Fullerton have an average listing price of $1,950,000 and price per acre of $2,610,442. Henry Ford wasnt just financially invested in the Upper Peninsula. He seems to have genuinely loved the region. And for the National Park Service, maintaining this belief is a growing challenge due to a surge in visitors, invasive species, climate change, and other factors. What if I drank the lake like a tonic? No members or employees would agree to talk to us about the club. Escanaba and Gwinn to Neguanee, where it was now severed from the remaining Since 1955, the Ives Lake Field Station has been maintained by the Huron Mountain Wildlife Foundation. Photo by Andrew Thomas, September 2017. Once here, youll be on your own to explore this rugged terrain of high hills, rivers, muskeg, and bedrock outcroppings. A hand-drawn map of Huron Mountain Club property. Contact. Rick Snyder has signed into law changes to the regulation of Michigan copper mines.Legislation enacted Tuesday establishes separate regulations for, The moose population in the western Upper Peninsula appears to be rebounding after taking a dip a few years ago.Moose were reintroduced into the western, Jim Curtis lives in Ahmeek, a village in Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula. the State Highway Dept bought the bridge in 1919, had it disassembled from its location the first state trunklines were laid out in the second decade of the twentieth Some time in mid-1939 the final decision was made to give up on completing Among the items available for viewing is Camping in Cloverland with Henry Ford, an out-of-print book published in 2012 by Guy Forstrom, which chronicles Fords recreational time in the U.P. Known now as Fullers North Branch Outing Club, the Prairie and Victorian-style lodge is one of the few remaining historic fly fishing resorts in the state open to the public. Ford worked to stop construction of the The schedule planned for completion in time for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition, to be held in San Francisco, the western terminus of the Highway, whose other end started in New York City. Today, it's more than 20,000 acres -- thats equal to about eight Mackinac Islands. Though Burroughs died in 1921, these so called Vagabonds camping trips would continue until 1924. 65 miles, via highway. The Fords let their membership lapse soon afterwards. In 1916, Firestone met Edison at the latters factory in New Jersey, where the two men proceeded to Burroughs summer home in the Catskill Mountains. 10. remained on official maps and documents through the 1930s, all the while Ford and his son returned to the Au Sable the following summer, checking into the Douglas and signing the guest registry on Sunday, June 10, 1917. Today, the Huron Mountain Club consists of 50 primary members and 100 associate members who have access to the private and heavily guarded hunting and fishing resort facility. He was 49 years old. The Club is home to 20,000 acres of old-growth forests, streams & inland lakes. The highway According to tax documents, members paid $1,803,055 in dues in 2015. The place is considerably pared down from its excessive glory years of the roaring 20's. Wood was used for body frames, wheel spokes, firewalls, dashboards, component housings, and the crates for all the parts. Interestingly, the bridge used not only previously spanned ", If you know anything about the club, you know it's kind of a silly question. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Today the 25,000-acre enclave is owned mostly by the descendants of those original members. The proposed road would have cut through Fords property and the adjacent Huron Mountain Club an exclusive 24,000-acre wilderness retreat along the shores of Lake Superior. membership, if ever. Anne, a mycologist, said that this was a very healthy lake. Within its boundaries lie towering virgin pines, blue ribbon trout streams, and pristine lakes. Dinner was a formal affair (and might still be). In fact, most roads ran well inland of the 'big lakes.' This terrain, deep in the interior of the continent, was a place apart from the islands and archipelagoes that Im accustomed to thinking and writing about. Founded in the 1890s by wealthy white Midwest outdoor enthusiasts qua enviro-capitalists, the HMC sits on more than 8,000 hectares of old-growth hardwood forest. And, they have supported it seriously as a result. The author steeps in Ives Lake. On a map youll see its an intriguing parcel of land, virtually devoid of towns and roads. mid-section of M-35 was removed from the maps, the remaining "spurs" from We started off by reaching out to current club members and to folks who have connections to the club. John Dunlop didnt patent the shock absorbing air-filled pneumatic bicycle tire until 1888. Alberta, This new trunkline would of Neguanee. moose population. then terminated at US-41/M-28 east This lake had been so little tampered with that the biological matter had seasonally accumulated in the water, transforming leaves, algae, sediment, and other biotic materials into a truly magical elixir. The 1919 trip had a caravan of 50 vehicles, including two said to be customized at Fords personal direction, a kitchen car with a stove fired by gasoline and built-in icebox, and a White truck with storage for tents, cots, chairs, and even the electric lights used at the campsites that were powered by a generator that Edison made. Mayor gave us this description of what summers at the club are like today: "So, when you go to the Huron Club now as a member or as a guest, you'll find that these are just folks that are up there in their summer place, and they drive up there or whatever, and they spend time on the water kayaking or canoeing or whatever and wandering around and maybe doing a lot of fishing, and they enjoy each others' company and then they go home at the end of the summer. Oddly enough, Ford's wife, Clara, was unimpressed with the "cabin" and the Fords left the Club not long after. number you provided, including marketing by autodialer and prerecorded and artificial voice, and Its over 1,000 square miles where the terrain rises to rugged hills and even mountains. Cyrus McCormick, head of the lucrative farm-implement company that would become International Harvester, amassed a huge wilderness estate around White Deer Lake, now part of the Ottawa National Forests McCormick Tract Wilderness Area. One expedition even included a player piano. All of this is a problem. The Club's existence spans more than 125 years, and many members are direct descendants of the Club's founders. Randy Annala is the father of one of my (Kaye's) best friends. Edge Effects is a digital magazine about environmental issues produced by graduate students at the Center for Culture, History, and Environment (CHE), a research center within the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of WisconsinMadison. routings were built, such as US-2 between Their wives also joined in the week-long trip, as did a Japanese cook and assistant, who were on staff to prepare all meals. The areas preservation wasnt the result of happy accident. This configuration, where M-35 ran concurrently with US-41 from In 1912, an entrepreneur named Carl Fisher had the idea of constructing a graveled transcontinental road that he initially called the Coast to Coast Rock Highway. Mayor stayed at the club during the winter of 1986, and recalls that he had to drive to the edge of the property to make a phone call. north of US-41/M-28 travelling No-trace camping is permitted throughout the wilderness area. His. Mark Brush was Michigan Radios Digital Media Director. He fell in love with the place he christened White Deer Lake. The club limited membership to only 50 primary 133, Loyal Friendship = FREE Car: 1927 Chrysler 60 and a Jaguar E-Type | Barn Find Hunter Ep. 1953, however it is unclear whether M-35 signs appeared along that route It was in 1917 that Ford first tried to join the Huron Mountain Club, unsuccessfully, even though he was by then wealthy and prominent enough to have run for the U.S. Senate that year. Traveling no longer was limited to the rich and famous; it was open to the everyman. He helped shape the states early tourism industry in more ways than one. Rockland. As we bobbed through this glacial lake, the newly changing leaves danced like seasonal glitter before they landed on us. The lawsuit says sulfuric acid produced by sulfide mining could pollute the river, and the club is "horror-struck" by the prospect of the watershed collapsing . (M-35 had been routed out of downtown Neguanee a few years as state trunklines! It would be 1919 before drivers were required to apply for paper driving permits. The Club was founded as a shooting and fishing club in 1889 by John Longyear, a lumber baron, with wealthy backers in Marquette, Michigan, Detroit, and Chicago. The club is more about conservation these days. An avid fan of nature, birds and travel, Ford not only delivered a way to explore Michigan, but he led by example. Even in urban areas, what we today call pavement was then a relatively new thing. By then, the Model T was a thing of past although in its 19-year history, more than 15 million Tin Lizzies were manufactured. WRSX 91.3 Port Huron is off the air due to network issues. Second, in 1926, Dan Hebard, who had personally benefited from Fords wealth, was elected the new president of the Huron Mountain Club and one of his first acts as executive was to change the rules for membership. the public at large. The former M-35, now County Rd 510, still skirts the Huron Mountains, and the still very private and secluded Huron Mountain Club is still only accessible by some of the gnarliest roads in the state. The Risk Factor models are designed to approximate risk and not intended to include all possible scenarios. Club membership has become something of a family responsibility. Although Henry Ford was a big supporter of government road building, there was one government highway that Henry literally stopped dead in its tracks so he could gain membership to a private club. Should dogs put their heads out car windows? I heard, after I had finished my contract with the club, I heard through the grapevine that they had at that point passed a rule that you could not operate a cell phone from the club. There are two types of members: Regular members and associate members. During this time period, the route of Personnel at Huron Mountain Club. Thus, the car would stall.. There are several ways: Archer Mayor spent one winter at the club doing research for the book, so he got in as an invited employee, and a guest, which he says is the key. Once in the U. P., they loaded up in three chauffeur-driven Lincoln cars and made their way to Iron Mountain, caravan-style, with three supply vehicles and an Edison portable generator that kept the refrigeration working and the camp lit at night. Hebard changed the rules to put the decision in the hands of club directors and only one no was needed to block election. At this fork, turn right at the Office sign, (100 yards before you get to a small Stop sign and the main bridge over Pine River. Firestone and Edison camped in the writers apple orchard and though the aging Burroughs initially preferred the comforts of his home, he was persuaded to join the other men by what he described as their Waldorf Astoria on wheels-level cuisine. Moon Michigan reveals the best of the Great Lakes States charming small towns, vibrant urban hubs, and vast, untouched wilderness. During World War II, the factory produced military gliders. 131, Ford Motion Picture Laboratories and Ford Photographic Department. Photo by Andrew Thomas, September, 2017. 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Its holdings now include approximately fifteen thousand acres which embrace And in the 1930s the HMC was an important stop for Aldo Leopold whose report on the Club helped put into practice his theories of land management driven by a conservationist ethic. The club was created in 1889 by John Longyear. It also seems as approach the mountains from both directions, eventually meeting in the The Clublands include unpaved roads to access a network of interior lakes and streams as well as trails to other points of interest. The club limited membership to only 50 primary members (those who are allowed to own their own cabin) and 80 "associate" members (not allowed to own a cabin), which resulted in extremely limited and exclusive membership. Ask 10 people where the Huron Mountains begin and end, and youre likely to get 10 different answers. a state trunkline in 1919, it was not until 1926 that work was completed In 1929, he was a member. Now, that was before cell phones. Ford instead wanted counties, states, and the federal government to support road building, and he devoted public relations and lobbying efforts toward that endmuch as he would later do regarding airports for his Ford Tri-Motor airplanes.