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Join author Susan Roark Hoyt as she explores the history of these remarkable structures, the courageous people who maintained them, and the harbors they safeguarded.

After the first settlers reached northwestern Michigan, the region's immense pine forests were quickly cultivated into a thriving lumber industry. Coastal towns sprang up to support sawmills, and soon lumber schooners arrived to carry large loads of timber to ports across Lake Michigan. Their journeys were not without dangers, however. Rudimentary harbors made docking and loading hazardous while shoals and reefs, hidden beneath the water's surface, threatened to ravage the unsuspecting vessels. The need for lighthouses to mark these dangerous waters and harbor entrances was crucial to prevent the loss of lives and valuable cargo. Through a unique collection of archival images, Lighthouses of Northwest Michigan takes readers on a stirring journey through the development of 27 lighthouses that secured the waters from Little Point Sable to the Straits of Mackinac.

Michigan, the Great Lakes State, is full of rich maritime traditions and with these traditions comes the danger and risk of shipwreck. Author William D. Peterson has compiled in this new book a photographic history of the United States Life-Saving Service in the Great Lakes region, and immortalizes in it the men who paved the way for the U.S. Coast Guard in 1915. In 1854, the U.S. Government provided funds for lighthouses, boats, and life-saving equipment along the Atlantic seaboard to alleviate shipping disasters. These early efforts greatly reduced the number of lives and property lost to shipwrecks. In the heart of the Midwest, however, the Great Lakes alone claimed 4,500 vessels, 1,300 people, and more than 27 million dollars in monetary damages between 1855 and 1876. These staggering losses prompted Congress to pass legislation putting the United States Life-Saving Service (USLSS) into operation in Michigan and other Great Lakes States. Pictured here in almost 200 images and detailed captions are Michigan's 38 USLSS stations and their crews along the Great Lakes, including Ottawa Point, Grand Haven, Holland, and South Manitou Island.

Through a rare collection of archival photographs, this book explores the legacy of seven lighthouses, the people who maintained them, and the ships and communities they protected.

As the coastal towns of southwestern Michigan began to grow in the 1800s, commerce and shipping traffic flourished, making way for the development of lighthouses to ensure vessels' safe passage into port. Lighthouses of Southwest Michigan takes readers on an exciting journey through the history of seven such structures, from the St. Joseph, South Haven, and Kalamazoo River Lights to the Holland Harbor, Grand Haven, Muskegon, and White River Lights.

From the Straits of Mackinac to the Detroit River, Images of America: Lighthouses of Eastern Michigan reveals intriguing stories of lighthouses and the people who depended on them. Readers will enjoy discovering what happened when a large ship fell 20 feet over one of the Soo Locks and the captain commented, "Good-bye Old World," as well as of a persistent ghost that caused havoc with the Coast Guard. Which lighthouse was a construction miracle in 1874? And whatever happened to the lost lighthouses of the Detroit River? A collection of the mysteries, storms, fires, and heroics surrounding the lighthouses of eastern Michigan are waiting within.

In 1813, Michael Bowerman built a cabin two miles south of what later became Romeo. Bowerman carried a small number of peach pits from his father's farm in New York, introducing the popular fruit to Macomb County and establishing the roots of today's Westview Orchards. In 1931, hoping for an economic boost, area orchard managers convinced village president Edward Jacob to create a festival. Jacob embraced the idea and traveled to northern Michigan to study the Michigan Cherry Festival in Traverse City. Upon his return, the first annual peach festival was held with much success with the cooperation of local merchants. Held on Labor Day weekend in Romeo, and called the Romeo Peach Festival by the locals, the Michigan Peach Festival has been sponsored by the Lions Club since 1951 and is the second-oldest festival in the state. In honor of the 75th anniversary, a collection of over 200 photographs has been assembled, including images of Peach Queens, the Floral Parade, and the surrounding orchards.

St. Ignace hosted its first car show in 1976 as part of the bicentennial celebration. Over the years, the annual gathering has grown into one of the largest collector-vehicle events in the country. This lakeside community overlooking the mighty Mackinac Bridge and historic Mackinac Island boasts a spectacular waterfront--the perfect backdrop for a stunning array of eye-catching vehicles. In the early years, media referred to this show as "dessert." As the numbers of participants and attendees grew, it became known as the "main course." For teenagers growing up in the 1950s it was all new--cruisin', drive-ins, drag strips, the country's intense love affair with the automobile, and the birth of rock 'n roll. Over 34 years, the St. Ignace Car Show has brought hundreds of automotive legends to town, and car-show traffic set crossing records on the Mackinac Bridge that are unlikely ever to be broken. So fire up the hot rod and cruise back to a simpler time . . . all these cars and still no traffic light!

First held in 1849 in Detroit, the location of the Michigan State Fair rotated in the early years between Detroit, Ann Arbor, Kalamazoo, Adrian, Jackson, Grand Rapids, East Saginaw, Lansing, and Pontiac before settling permanently in Detroit. When Detroit department store magnate Joseph L. Hudson sold 135 acres of Woodward Avenue farmland to the Michigan State Agricultural Society in 1905 for $1, the permanent home of the Michigan State Fair was established. On February 12, 2009, Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm signed an executive order effectively ending a 160-year tradition--the Michigan State Fair.

An interesting collection of images traces the history of the Grand Traverse Lighthouse.

The Grand Traverse Lighthouse sits majestically at the entrance of Grand Traverse Bay, guiding vessels between Chicago and the Straits of Mackinac. For over 150 years, it has been an important beacon for all who have plied the waters of Lake Michigan. The original 1852 lighthouse was used for six years before being torn down. In 1858, a larger lighthouse with an attached nine-sided tower was erected on a site farther west. Over the course of its history, 66 lighthouse keepers, assistant keepers, and U.S. Coast Guard personnel have maintained the light. Today visitors tour the restored lighthouse, which is now a living museum filled with displays and exhibits depicting a simpler way of life. A climb to the tower where keepers once stood watch now provides an inspiring panorama.