Michigan’s Dixie Highway - 10 years before Route 66

Michigan’s Dixie Highway - 10 years before Route 66

Before Route 66 became an American road-trip icon, Michigan motorists were already following another ambitious highway south. In this episode of End of the Road in Michigan, we trace the history of the Dixie Highway, a sprawling early automobile route that linked Michigan with Florida beginning in 1915. Its eastern and western divisions crossed the Lower Peninsula, passed through communities such as Detroit, Waterford and Mackinaw City, and helped usher in a new era of tourism, roadside businesses and long-distance driving. We look at Carl G. Fisher’s role in promoting the route, Michigan’s push to become part of the system, the rough conditions early motorists faced, and the stone monument that once marked the highway at Mackinaw City. We also explain how the Dixie Highway predated Route 66 by more than a decade and how much of its route was later absorbed into numbered highways such as U.S. 31. Historic maps, postcards and photographs reveal a time when a “highway” could still mean dirt, gravel and uncertainty. This is the story of the road that pointed south — from the Great Lakes toward Miami — and helped change how Americans traveled. Follow End of the Road in Michigan for more stories from Michigan’s past. The End of the Road in Michigan is a production of Thumbwind Publications [https://thumbwind.com]

Trucks, Sugar & Survival: The World War I History of Alma Michigan.

At the turn of the 20th century, Alma, Michigan transformed from a quiet former lumber town into a thriving industrial hub. Sugar beet fields replaced pine forests, and a bustling refinery put Alma on the map for sugar production. Visionary local leader Ammi Wright built mills, factories, and even a college, laying the groundwork for growth. When World War I erupted, Alma’s Republic Truck Company answered the call by producing thousands of Liberty Trucks for the U.S. Army. Meanwhile, the town’s roller mills, canneries, and Swift & Co. plant kept America’s food supply flowing. This narrative shines a light on how Alma’s people and industries – from the Union Depot’s rail traffic to the Michigan Masonic Home’s charitable care – all contributed to the war effort and community life. It’s a story of innovation, patriotism, and early 20th-century spirit in small-town America. The End of the Road in Michigan is a production of Thumbwind Publications [https://thumbwind.com]

The Fishing Village of Leland Michigan: One of The Last Commercial Fisheries on Lake Michigan

The Fishing Village of Leland Michigan: One of the Last Commercial Fisheries on Lake Michigan tells the story of Fishtown, a rare working waterfront that grew from Native fishing grounds, sawmill power, iron smoke and Lake Michigan commercial fishing. This episode of End of the Road in Michigan follows Leland from the late 1800s through the mid-1900s, when fish tugs, smokehouses, net racks and weathered shanties lined the Leland River. Before it became one of Michigan’s best-known travel stops, Leland was a hard-working harbor where families made a living from whitefish, trout, ciscoes and lake winds. The story also covers Leland’s surprising industrial past, including its charcoal iron furnace and the origin of Leland Blue stone. By the 1900s, tourism began to rise, but commercial fishing stayed at the center of the village’s identity. Leland’s story is not just about nostalgia. It is about labor, water, family businesses and the fight to keep one of Lake Michigan’s last traditional fishing districts in public memory. The End of the Road in Michigan is a production of Thumbwind Publications [https://thumbwind.com]

The Hotel Ojibway: Luxury, Legends, and Life Along the Soo Locks

For nearly 100 years, the Hotel Ojibway [https://thumbwind.com/2026/06/26/hotel-ojibway-sault-ste-marie/]has stood as one of Michigan's most recognizable historic hotels. Overlooking the Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie, it welcomed tourists, business leaders, politicians, and Great Lakes travelers during the golden age of railroads and automobile tourism. In this episode of The End of the Road in Michigan Podcast, we trace the hotel's story from its grand opening in 1927 through the Great Depression, World War II, and decades of change in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. You'll meet longtime owners Leon and Beatrice Deglman, learn why former Governor Chase S. Osborn helped bring the hotel to life, and hear how the Soo Locks transformed Sault Ste. Marie into one of North America's most important transportation hubs. We'll also separate documented history from local legend as we examine the enduring story of Room 616, where many believe the spirit of Beatrice Deglman still watches over the hotel. Is it history, folklore, or simply one of Michigan's favorite ghost stories? Join us as we uncover the luxury, the legends, and the lasting legacy of the Hotel Ojibway—one of the Upper Peninsula's most fascinating landmarks. The End of the Road in Michigan Podcast brings you the people, places, history, and legends that make Michigan unique—one story at a time. The End of the Road in Michigan is a production of Thumbwind Publications [https://thumbwind.com]

Michigan's Little Known Ghost Towns - Lost Ports, Mining Camps And Vanished Company Towns

Michigan is full of towns that once had mills, mines, hotels, post offices, rail depots, docks, stores and big plans. Then the timber ran out. The copper market fell. The railroad moved. The dunes shifted. The fires came. The ships stopped calling. And in many cases, the town simply faded from the map. In this episode of End of the Road in Michigan, we take a lively trip through some of Michigan’s most interesting ghost towns, from the Upper Peninsula to the Thumb and the Lake Michigan shore. These are not just spooky names on old maps. They were working communities built around lumber, copper, salt, fishing, shipping, farming and tourism. The episode covers well-known and lesser-known Michigan ghost towns, including Fayette, Freda, Sigma, Berne, Alabaster, Linkville, New River and Port Crescent, along with added stops at Singapore, Port Oneida, Pere Cheney, Old Victoria, Nonesuch, Disco, Aral, Edgewater, Good Harbor, Glen Haven, Central Mine and Clifton. Some towns, like Fayette, survive as preserved historic sites. Others, like Singapore, were swallowed by Lake Michigan sand after the timber was cut away. Port Crescent, once a busy Lake Huron port near the Pinnebog River, had sawmills, salt works, hotels, shops and more than 500 residents before fire, timber losses and shifting industry left only traces behind. Today, its former townsite sits within Port Crescent State Park. The story also includes Pere Cheney, a Crawford County lumber town now better known for its cemetery legends than its railroad and sawmill history. In the western Upper Peninsula, Old Victoria and Nonesuch tell the story of copper mining towns where good engineering and big hopes still could not beat falling prices or difficult ore. And then there is Disco, a real 19th-century Macomb County settlement with a name that arrived long before mirrored balls and Saturday night dance floors. This episode asks a simple question: Why do towns vanish? In Michigan, the answer often comes down to one industry, one railroad line, one dock, one mine or one mill. When that reason for being disappeared, the town usually followed.Along the way, we look at the strange, funny and often sobering history of Michigan ghost towns. These were not empty places. They were homes. They had churches, schools, stores, blacksmiths, mills, cemeteries, boarding houses and people who thought their town had a future. So take a ride down the back roads, old rail grades and forgotten shorelines of Michigan history. This episode of End of the Road in Michigan is about the places that boomed, burned, shifted, sank, emptied out or simply lost the fight with time. The End of the Road in Michigan is a production of Thumbwind Publications [https://thumbwind.com]