MLive says: “On the land that was once a bustling industrial town, Fayette Historic State Park is now a tourist attraction with a great view. You'll get to check out buildings from the area's heyday while marveling at the white dolomite bluffs on Lake Michigan's Big Bay de Noc. You can camp here, go fishing, take a hike or launch your boat. The museum here is open from mid-May through mid-October.”
July 1-2, 2019
Fayette Historical State Park is one of the most fascinating places I have ever been; I was definitely not disappointed. An abandoned ghost town founded on the pig iron industry in the UP, sitting alone for decades before becoming a state treasure; Fayette is a Michigan gem.
I arrived in the afternoon on July 1, found my campsite, popped my tent, and had lunch. After a meal, I packed my backpack and walked from the campground to the historic town site. The walk was only about half of a mile, making it an easy walk from 2019 into the 1800s, right along Sand Bay.
The first place I visited in the park was a laborer’s cabin. This was essentially a low-income, working class home that had been reconstructed based on historical records. My favorite part of this cabin was the list of immigrants that came to Fayette from other countries; the family names displayed gave me goosebumps. There is something unsettling and humbling about standing where someone once stood; someone who arrived in this country for a better life and made a home here, in my home state.
After exploring the cabin, I went on into the rest of the park. I saw the original general store, hotel, middle class neighborhood homes, town hall, various homes, the furnace complex for the iron company, and multiple other buildings. These are original buildings that have stood on the shore of Lake Michigan for well over a century. Their resilience is impressive. There are teams of archaeologists, historians, and specialists restoring some of the buildings with original paint and period furniture; most of the buildings though, stand empty as they did when Fayette was abandoned.
Walking through the park was lovely: there were areas where the Parks Department was preserving buildings and up-keeping landscaping, and areas where nature had been permitted to take back the town. Deer roamed freely, monarchs found milkweed, and pigeons and gulls made homes where they pleased. It was a lovely marriage of management and reclamation.
I walked the entire park that afternoon, covering every inch of that historic site. I was inspired and humbled by this old town. After hours of exploration, my tired feet took a dip in Snail Shell Harbor, where boats used to deliver goods to the town, rocks from the quarry were discarded, and sleds traveled over the icy lake in the winter to other towns in the UP. I planted myself under a tree to relax and took a nap in the grass.
I ventured back to my campsite after my nap, as the sky became more overcast. The rain started during my walk and persisted for about an hour. I laid in my tent to nap and read, resting my tired shoulders and feet. When the rain slowed and subsided, I re-emerged and walked down a trail toward the other end of the park. On this side of the park were some additional components of the town, including the Catholic Cemetery. I did not take my camera to this location. I walked through a path in the woods, gingerly stepping over plants and leaves, jumping when a black squirrel passed in front of me. The Cemetery had original simple wooden crosses and headstones on the graves. It was very Stephen King-esque.
After visiting the Cemetery, I headed to the “beach.” Water levels in the Great Lakes are incredibly high this year, so the beach was actually nonexistent; totally washed out. The stairs to the beach went right into the lake. There was no one out, because of the very recent rain. I was feeling inspired, and overwhelmed, and grateful for this beautiful place. I felt proud of myself for taking adventures alone. I felt in awe of the quickly changing sky after the storm. With all of these feelings, I decided to do what most 23 year olds would do with a beach to themselves in broad daylight: I stripped down to my underwear and swam topless in Sand Bay, and it was wonderful. The lake was warm from the rain, the air was cold from the breeze, the sand was soft and stirring: I felt liberated.
After a good swim, I walked back to my campsite and started up a fire. S’mores were on the menu for dinner, and I sat by the fire with my feet up in my damp campsite. My night ended there.
The next day, I woke up to a very wet tent after a lot of rain overnight. I dried things out and packed up my tent in the car. I finished my time at Fayette with a lovely walk on the scenic hiking trail that takes you across Snail Shell Harbor to view the entire historical town from up on a cliff. On my hike, I ran into two bucks sparring in the woods, multiple does, and countless species of birds. At lunch time, I said my goodbyes to this beautiful park and hit the road for my next stop.
I want to write in a little shout-out to Karen, a DNR Parks employee that has worked at the park for over a decade. She works in the gift shop/visitor center, and lives in Garden, Michigan right by the park. She was extremely welcoming, cared about my well-being, told me all about her family, shared her travel goals and personal goals, and was just an overall amazingly kind individual. She made my stay at Fayette so much more special, and I hope that our paths cross again.
My favorite photo from this location is below. I am extremely proud of how I composed this photograph, in addition to the multiple themes that can be pulled from it.