More than a century ago, Mason County was a much different, harsher place.
But when the lumber ran.
To serve the lumber industry, the railroad spread across the county, and immigrants and settlers flooded in to have their chance at the American Dream.
When the lumber industry arrived in Michigan, the settlements grew to boomTowns and new Towns formed.
Arriving by foot and boat to find a dense wilderness, hardy pioneers carved out tiny settlements stretching right to the coast of Lake Michigan.
More than a century ago, Mason County was a much different, harsher place