Part 3: Exploring Lumbering Sites of Crescent and Davenport Camps
Remembering Crescent with Billy and Karen Rosa.
Featuring Billy and Karen Rosa, authors of Remembering Crescent: Logging and Life on North Manitou Island.
Join us to tour locations around Crescent, on the trails, and North to the Davenport Lumber Camp area. Crescent was a lumber town on the West Side of North Manitou Island, now in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. It was active from 1907-1915. Billy’s grandmother Esther lived here as a child. Billy’s Great grandfather AJ White ran the sawmill in the village. Now in wilderness, there is little evidence of the once bustling lumbertown.
Sites visited include: Crescent clearing, beach, and mill pond. Also the Davenport Brothers Logging Camp, two miles north of Crescent, and scenes from the Old Grade train track. “Davenport Camp” is a name on the map on the north loop of the main trail, and this site is often just as pass through for hikers. Taking the time to slow down and walk around reveals a lot about the site. Pay close attention to the shape of the land, and you can imagine the way it was used during that time, more than 100 years ago. At this site, we see depressions in the ground, old apple trees, rock piles and configurations, cans and other artifacts, and in May, lots and lots of morrell mushrooms. *Correction – the railroad on North Manitou was standard gauge, not narrow gauge as mentioned in the video.
To learn more about the book, CLICK HERE
To purchase Remembering Crescent: Logging and Life on North Manitou Island, CLICK HERE
Review of the book: The Rosas have created a wonderful volume rich in detail and rare photos, making this an important contribution to the published historical knowledge of North Manitou. It will be treasured by island campers, visitors, and story seekers; all who are curious about the mysterious point on the island map called Crescent.
Part 1: Visit to Crescent with Billy and Karen Rosa CLICK HERE
Part 2: Interview with the Rosas CLICK HERE
Historical photos courtesy of Billy and Karen Rosa.
If you enjoyed Exploring Lumbering Sites, learn more about North Manitou Island HERE