Here is the third volume in the Ghost Towns of Michigan series, featuring 44 of Michigan's most fascinating ghost towns, along with numerous historic photographs. These are stories of land speculators, wildcat bankers, boom-and-bust lumber barons, pioneers who refused to give up, and small towns with big ideas that didn't quite pan out. Read about: * Havre, which drowned in the rising waters of Lake Erie * Eschol, a town that only existed on paper * Armed conflict between Quakers and hunters of fugitive slaves at Calvin Center in 1847 * The bizarre story of a minister-turned-murderer at Rattle RunThe Ghost Towns of Michigan series has become a beloved classic in Michigan's historical literature since the first volume was published in 1994. Engagingly written, with a wry sense of humor and a wealth of historical facts, these tales will inform and entertain anyone who enjoys regional history presented with a storyteller's touch.

More than a century ago, Mason County was a much different, harsher place. Arriving by foot and boat to find a dense wilderness, hardy pioneers carved out tiny settlements stretching right to the coast of Lake Michigan. When the lumber industry arrived in Michigan, the settlements grew to boomtowns and new towns formed. 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. But when the lumber ran out, the mills closed down. Jobs disappeared, and so did these towns. Out of the thirty-nine settlements, only two cities and six fading villages remain today. Join local author Sandi Lewis-Malburg as she uncovers the towns that time forgot.

Eastern Michigan's vanished boomtowns and villages are uncovered and revisited in this fascinating look at the history of the lost settlements around Detroit and the Great Lakes. Many of eastern Michigan's old boomtowns and sleepy villages are faded memories. Nature reclaimed the ruins of some while progress paved over the rest. Discover the stories of lost communities hidden in plain sight or just off the beaten track. The vanished religious colony of Ora Labora fell into a state of near-constant inebriation when beer became the only safe liquid to drink. Lake St. Clair swallowed up the unique currency of Belvidere along with the place that issued it. Abandoned towns still crumble within Detroit's city limits. Alan Naldrett delves into the fascinating history of eastern Michigan's lost settlements.