A turkey club sandwich at Shoey’s Log Bar.
Baldwin is located about 120 miles north of Kalamazoo at the junction of US 10 and M 37. This area, Lake County, is popular with outdoor enthusiasts with its abundance of lakes, rivers, the Manistee National Forest, campsites and ORV trails.
The area was originally known for its white pine. The great Chicago Fire of 1871 caused a boom in the area for lumber. The 1886 “Lumberman’s Directory of the Northwest” estimated the annual lumber output at Baldwin at 9 million board feet.
The depression of the 1890s and decline in lumbering caused Baldwin’s population to drop to 343 in 1900. Better economic conditions, including the rise of agriculture and tourism, saw the village’s population rise to 502 in 1910. A major factor was the organization in 1900 of the Pere Marquette Railroad, bringing visitors from Flint, Grand Rapids Chicago and Detroit.
Over the years, I have camped in the area and canoed the gorgeous Pere Marquette River. The river is named after the French Roman Catholic missionary Jacques Marquette, who explored the Great Lakes areas during the mid-17th century. He died in the vicinity of the river in spring 1675 on his way from Chicago to the French fort at Mackinaw.
The main stream of the river is 64 miles long, running from south of Baldwin into the Pere Marquette Lake, and from there into Lake Michigan at Ludington.
It has been designated a Blue Ribbon Fishery, for its extremely high quality. This river’s original native fish was the grayling, but due to deforestation after the great Chicago Fire, they disappeared from the river. It was then stocked with rainbow trout in 1876.
The nearby Baldwin River, a tributary of the Pere Marquette, is the site of the first planting of some 5.000 German brown trout in the United States in 1884. A Michigan historical marker and the world’s largest trout sculpture mark this historic spot.
When my kids were little, we visited the great Shrine of the Pines roadside attraction, south of town on M-37. It was created by Raymond W. Overholzer over the course of nearly 30 years from the early 1920s until his death in 1952. The attraction is a tribute to the eastern white pine which had been logged to near extinction. The property, which includes the original log cabin built as a gallery to house the furniture collection, was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1982.
Overholzer wandered the Manistee National Forest, collecting stumps and roots that remained from the logging activity, initially crafting them into mirror frames and bases for his taxidermy.
He continued to work tirelessly on his collection, which numbered 201 pieces at the time of his death. It includes a 700-pound dining table and seating for ten, a buffet and side tables, beds for guests and a game table with five club chairs.
A few weeks ago, on a return trip from up north golfing, a friend and I made our annual stop at Shoey’s Log Bar. The 1930’s era bar is like stepping back in time and serves great food. My turkey club sandwich was one of the largest and best I have had and large enough to save half for dinner later.
We then walked across the street to Jones Ice Cream, a staple in Baldwin since 1942. That’s 83 years! Jones makes its own ice cream and homemade waffle cones. My turtle sundae was fabulous!
After heading east out of Baldwin, we noticed the bike trail paralleling us to the south and in looking it up found that it was the Pere Marquette State Trail. It is a bicycle and multi-use trail running 55 miles through Clare, Lake, and Osceola Counties. We will need to bring our bikes and ride a section next time.
Just east of Baldwin is the historic town of Idlewild. At one time, it was one of the few resorts in the country where African-Americans were allowed to vacation and purchase property, before discrimination was outlawed through the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Called the “Black Eden of Michigan”, from 1912 through the mid-1960s, Idlewild was an active year-round community and was one of the most popular resorts in the Midwest. As many as 25,000 would come to Idlewild in the height of the summer season to enjoy camping, swimming, boating, fishing, and hunting night-time entertainment.
Many African American entertainers of the period performed in Idlewild, particularly at the Paradise Club – Della Reese, Aretha Franklin, B.B King, Jackie Wilson, Dinah Washington, Cab Calloway and the Four Tops, to name just a few.
Over the years the town has declined, but is seeing a resurgence in popularity as folks are rediscovering this resort town and lake with historical significance.
If you love the outdoors, Baldwin and Lake County are hard to beat.
