Here's a very cool ghost town for you to visit this year: Shelldrake, located in Whitefish Township, Chippewa County in the Upper Peninsula, between Whitefish Point and Paradise on N. Whitefish Point Road.

Centuries ago it was a fishing village for Native Americans, until the Europeans came in and settled on the land. In 1895, Bay City's Penoyer Brothers began operating a lumber business in Shelldrake and by the late 1890's it was a prosperous lumber town.....but numerous fires and the depletion of timber by the 1920's brought an inevitable end to Shelldrake's lumber business.

There are a nice handful of old, original abandoned buildings scattered throughout the village and is recognized as a true Michigan Ghost Town. If you go explore, you just might be able to find remains or foundations of Shelldrake's old sawmill, docks, and the log-loading tramway that once led into the bay. Other structures & businesses included a hospital, houses for the lumberjacks, icehouse for storing meat, post office, schoolhouse, and stagecoach stop.

Shelldrake is historic enough to merit its own historical marker. This village is an awesome place to take photos and/or video. Looking at satellite photos on Google, it appears there are quite a few structures, more than likely some being occupied. So if you visit, treat the place with respect and courtesy, don't litter, don't vandalize, don't go whoopin' and hollerin' like idiots...don't ruin this terrific Michigan Ghost Town experience for others.

 

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