ARCADIA
Arcadia Township is the northernmost township in Manistee County,located along the most scenic stretch of Lake Michigan shoreline in the county, on M-22. Arcadia Township, formerly known as Starkville after Henry Stark, was founded in 1870. Farming, dairy products, and maple syrup were the industries of the day, soon followed by the Lumber industry in 1880. This deep water channel at one time serviced over 500 vessels in a season, and the waters off this coast are a memorial to many historic shipwrecks of the day.

BEAR LAKE
The Village of Bear Lake was originally developed as a service community in 1873, with logging and the Railroad playing significant roles; the strong commitment to “community” by the residents remains today. Bear Lake itself is approximately 1,800 acres, and offers fishing, boating, swimming and ice fishing. The area contains many other smaller lakes, just waiting to be discovered.

BRETHREN AND WELLSTON
This natural beauty area has changed very little since the days of the early settlers, with the exception of the development of the villages and businesses themselves. Tippy Dam, the Big Manistee River, and the Manistee National Forest provide numerous outdoor recreation opportunities!

COPEMISH
Copemish, nicknamed “Beech City”, was the first incorporated village in Manistee County. Although there were no horses (a two day walk to the grocery store) and plenty of agricultural problems, this area began to thrive with the lumber industry. There were hotels, stores, 3 railroads and a population of nearly 1,000 between the years of 1888 and 1891. Today,there are only about 100 people, and a handful of business.

DUBLIN
The Dublin community is consists of several businesses and residential areas, and is surrounded by the Manistee National Forest.  The Central Europeans were the first settlers to this region. The Chicago and West Michigan Railroads had a very difficult time with a particular hill in Dublin and had to keep an extra train on hand to conquer this obstacle. This “doubling” of trains is how this area received its name.

KALEVA
Over 100 years ago Finnish immigrants were encouraged by the Michigan Land Society to purchase land and create their own community, which became Kaleva, named for the Finnish National Epic – Kalevala. Infertile land and a lack of money resulted in great struggle for this group of settlers; their determination and a strong Christian belief lead them to success. The Finnish heritage is still strong today, and the names of the streets in this community are powerful reminders of their past struggles and ultimate triumphs.

MANISTEE
In 1852, the population of Manistee County was only about 200 people. The major industry was lumber and the only settlements included those at the mouth of the river, around each of the mills and Old Stronach. As more and more mills were built and additional workers were needed, population increased rapidly. Manistee was incorporated January 8, 1869.

In 1871, on the same day as the Great Chicago Fire, Manistee experienced a fire as well. Over half the city burned and left approximately 1,000 people without homes. At that point, many of the Lumber Barons’ had amassed their fortune and hired foremost architects of the day to design ornate Victorian homes and public buildings – many of which remain to this day.

MARILLA
In the early days of Marilla’s development logging and agriculture played key roles. Around 1904 the community enjoyed the luxury of four stores,the railroad, a post office and a church. With the decline of the logging industry in 1920, this once prosperous Wells Fargo stop-over is now a very quiet rural community.

ONEKAMA
In 1845, Adam Stronach built a lumber mill on the channel between Lake Michigan and Portage Lake. Several years later, in 1871, the town of Onekama (the Native American name for Portage) was established. It became a station on the Manistee and Northwestern Railroad in 1888, and was organized as a village in 1891. By the early 1900’s Onekama was considered a popular tourism destination, drawing visitors by horse, car,and steamship.