08/07/2026
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ง๐ผ๐๐ป๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฝ ๐ถ๐ ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐น๐ถ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐น๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐ถ๐
๐๐ผ๐๐ป๐๐โ๐ ๐ต๐ถ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ด๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ ๐ฎ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฝ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ.
This weekend a pair of monuments will be dedicated in Bay Townshipโs rural pioneer era burial grounds, Dyer and Oaklawn Cemeteries, bringing a number of early residents โ some named, others still unknown โ back into the narrative of the community they helped to build.
๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ง๐ผ๐๐ป๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฝ ๐ฎ๐น๐ผ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐ป๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ต ๐๐ต๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐น๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐ถ๐
Bay Township lies along the central north shore of Lake Charlevoix, between Horton Bay to the west and the Walloon Lake region at its eastern boundary. Its shoreline, inland lakes, and wooded ridges made it one of the earliest settled parts of the county.
Before settlers began arriving in numbers, the Waganakising Odawa (Anishinaabe) lived throughout the region, traveling the lakes and forested interior for fishing, hunting, gathering, and seasonal movement across northern Michigan.
By the mid nineteenth century, the area that would become Bay Township remained remote, reached mainly by water or rough trails. Newly arriving settlers relied heavily on one another, and early accounts describe a community organized around shared labor and seasonal work.
๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ ๐ฉ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ
The first recorded non-Indigenous resident of the area was Dr. Samuel Horton, who arrived in August 1856 after sailing from Ohio on his vessel, the Rover. His arrival marked the beginning of what would become Horton Bay, the townshipโs most prominent village. The first marriage within the townshipโs present boundaries took place in 1869, and the first non-Indigenous child, Fannie Bewell, was born in 1874 โ early milestones that signaled the shift from scattered homesteads to a recognizable community.
Horton Bay was officially established in 1876 and quickly became a lumbering center. That same year, Alonzo Stroud and William Ohle built the first sawmill, producing roughly 35,000 board feet of lumber daily. A horse drawn tramway carried logs four miles from Bear Lake to the docks on Lake Charlevoix (then called Pine Lake), where hemlock, white pine, and bark for tanning were carried by vessel to near and distant markets. The lumber industry brought workers, families, and commerce, spurring the villageโs early growth.
๐ฆ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฐ ๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ฒ
As Horton Bay expanded, civic life took shape around familiar institutions. The Horton Bay General Store, established around 1876 and owned and run by Alonzo Stroud until 1894, served as the seat of township government, the post office, and the communityโs primary source of news. Religious life grew quickly: the North Bay Sunday School was organized in 1878, and the Horton Bay Church was completed in 1898 after a major revival.
Education was organized through three one room school districtsโNorth Bay, Horton Bay, and East Bay/Lakeside โ each forming the center of its neighborhood until consolidation in the mid twentieth century. Telephone service arrived in 1887; electricity did not reach the township until April 1938.
๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐๐น๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ ๐ฒ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐
Horton Bayโs cultural legacy extends beyond its early lumber industry. Ernest Hemingway spent his youth summers there, drawing inspiration from the village and its people. He married Hadley Richardson in the Horton Bay Methodist Church in 1921, a structure which no longer survives today. The communityโs Fourth of July celebrationsโparades, horse races, and contests such as retrieving a five dollar bill from a greased pole mounted on the dockโbecame part of its enduring lore.
As the lumber era waned, the economy shifted toward farming and tourism. Establishments such as the Red Fox Inn became well known for their hospitality, serving both local families and summer visitors. Through these transitions, the township retained its character: rural, interconnected, and shaped by pioneer family legacies.
๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐ ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฃ๐๐๐ญ ๐๐ก๐๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฐ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐จ๐ง ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ง๐ฌ๐ก๐ข๐ฉโ๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ
Bay Townshipโs earliest history is preserved not only in surviving buildings, documents and memories, but in the burial grounds where many of its first residents were laid to rest. Dyer Cemetery and Oaklawn Cemetery are central to that early history, holding many graves that over generations have been lost to time.
This summer, a project supported by the America250MI program has changed that. Ground penetrating radar, volunteer fieldwork, and focused research have confirmed early burial sites. Two new monuments at each cemetery restore recognition to individuals whose names had faded from living memory, and 108 ground level markers now identify ancestral plots once hidden in the landscape.
๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐บ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ โ ๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐
On Sunday, August 9 at 2 PM (rain or shine), Bay Township will formally recognize this important work with the unveiling of two new granite Unknown Monuments at Dyer Cemetery and Oaklawn Cemetery.
The ceremony will begin at Dyer Cemetery on Camp Daggett Road, then continue to Oaklawn Cemetery on Horton Bay Road North. The program will include guest remarks and pioneer portrayals by Girl Scout Troop 8689, honoring individuals now known to rest in these historic grounds.
The project reflects the combined efforts of the Charlevoix County History Preservation Society, the Charlevoix Genealogical Society, local families, grant match donors, the Bay Township Cemetery Committee and Board of Trustees, and Girl Scout Troop 8689.
The dedication reconnects present day Bay Township with the people who first lived, worked, worshiped, and raised families here โ honoring the early settlers, immigrants, children, soldiers, and Indigenous peoples whose lives shaped the beginnings of Bay Township and the Lake Charlevoix region.
Our gratitude and congratulations to the projectโs leaders, sponsors and participants for their outstanding work on this historic project. Hope to see you there.
