Exploring Michigan: Step back in time and experience the charm of Leland's Fishtown
LELAND, Mich., (WPBN/WGTU) -- In our latest edition of Exploring Michigan, we continue our series of highlighting special places around the Great Lakes State.
We're headed to one of the iconic and popular landmarks on the Lake Michigan shoreline: Leelanau County's own Fishtown.
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"Fishtown is an experience, and Fishtown is also a refuge," said Amanda Holmes, the executive director of the Fishtown Preservation Society.
It's a refuge for these wonderful buildings that you just aren't going to find anywhere else, some of them that are 120 years old. It's a refuge for people who just want to come and get away a little bit and tune out," Holmes said.
Nestled on the shores of Lake Michigan in heart of Leland, a place that has become a must visit for visitors to Leelanau County.
"What is the must do about Fishtown? It's just pausing to appreciate it, and the experiences will just start unfolding around you," Holmes said.
These days it's the stunning beauty, the sounds of rushing water, the unique shops and restaurants that draw people in.
But it also the opportunity to take a step back in time to Fishtown's origin.
"They went out yesterday morning, lifted a few nets we got almost a couple thousand pounds of fish," said Nels Carlson.
Once the very core of a vibrant fishing community, these days the weathered shanties, for the most part cater to visitor's desires.
But you don't have to walk down the wooden dock very far to see a reminder, like Carlson's Fishery, that in fact this was and still is a place with strong ties to the nearby Great Lakes waters.
The Carlsons have been a staple of Fishtown since 1903.
"We'll tell anybody, we talk a lot who like with people about smoking and how we smoke stuff and how they can smoke their own fish or meat or whatever they want to do," Carlson said.
Few people probably imagined back in the 1870's that what they built here, in order to do handle their catch and do their jobs, would still be standing here today.
It's not without a lot of effort thanks to the Fishtown Perseveration Group.
Over the years, they have spearheaded massive efforts, like literally raising buildings to save them from rising lake levels, to replacing the weather-worn wood underfoot.
"A place like Fishtown, by preserving it, you're keeping a way of life and you're keeping a very tangible place where that can happen," Holmes said.
Those that visit Fishtown today, have the unique opportunity to take a step back in time.
"What you see here today, the seeds of that started in the 1850s. And the one industry that has gone on the entire time has been commercial fishing and uninterrupted history of that," Holmes said.
Visiting the past, while still enjoying all that any given day in a special place this like has to offer.
"The fishing, the various businesses and who's here, it's layered and it's wonderful because of that. You can just immerse yourself in it and just take it in at every level," Holmes said.
While you can visit Fishtown year-round and enjoy the natural beauty, many of the shops and stores open up primarily for the summer months.
The Carlson's Fishery is opening up on Thursday and the popular village Cheese Shanty is set to open for the season this Friday.