Historic Harbor Springs

A Main Street that stands the test of time

Simply put, this place is gorgeous. From indigenous village to lumber town to its century-plus role as a premier resort destination, Harbor Springs enjoys pride of place on the northern shore of Lake Michigan’s Little Traverse Bay, approximately 10 miles from Petoskey.

With one of the most beautiful—read: unchanged—downtowns running adjacent to a sheltered deep-water harbor and tucked in at the base of a high bluff, Harbor, as it is known locally, is home to a citizenry that is more likely to protect, restore, and repurpose their buildings rather than replace them. Main Street is a prime example, with its collection of authentic storefronts, brick landmarks, and tidy clapboard businesses, all of a certain age.

Main Street’s eastern end is anchored by two historical restorations, the Harbor Springs Historical Society and the Ephraim Shay Works Museum. Close by is the Andrew J. Blackbird Museum, slated for future updates and improvements. Read on to learn all about these local treasures, and then continue down Main Street to experience one-of-a-kind shopping.

Harbor Springs History Museum: If Walls Could Talk

Before the Harbor Springs History Museum opened in 2008, the building itself was the center of community activity in ways both expected and unusual. It was built in 1886 by much-in-demand Charles W. Caskey, known for building a cottage in a week or two.

(Caskey and his crew constructed Mackinaw Island’s Grand Hotel in a little over three months. Sounds crazy, but true. Of course, the hotel had no plumbing or electricity at the time, but it did have the only elevator within 200 miles.)

Caskey’s building would serve as the Emmet County courthouse until 1902, when the county seat was moved to Petoskey. In the following decades, it housed the City Hall and fire station, as well as opera house and a civic center for school programs and entertainments prior to the construction of Harbor Springs High School in 1916 and the advent of the resort hotels.

From the 1940s through the 1960s, city police practiced their marksmanship on the second floor, which has peculiar brown indentations at evenly spaced intervals, suggesting that spent shell casings burned the wood floor as they landed. (Hard to prove, but it’s an intriguing story.) When the city moved out in 2003, citizens stepped up, and through tireless fundraising and much hard work, including the painstaking removal, numbering, and refinishing of every piece of bead board, the Harbor Springs History Museum officially opened for business in 2008.

Today, you can check out the permanent and visiting exhibits at 349 E. Main St. For example, a stunning collection of quill art is on display through October 22.

Ephraim Shay Works Museum: Brilliance and Practicality Merge

The Shay House is hard to ignore, with its octagonal center, its six hexagonal wings, and its steel siding pressed into slate, brick, tile, and terra cotta designs. (The interior steel panels have 13 different designs.)

Ephraim Shay, Civil War vet, lumberman, designer, and engineer, built the house in 1892 after retiring to Harbor Springs, but not before transforming the lumber industry with the invention of his geared Shay Locomotive, able to maneuver loads of timber along tricky grades and curves, previously done with much difficulty by ice roads and horse or oxen.

His contributions to Harbor Springs were also noteworthy: he brought running water to the town with twelve miles of water mains and designed a logging railway known as the Hemlock Central, among other accomplishments.

Perhaps his most heartfelt contribution was the year he made over 400 wooden sleds so that every local child would have a Christmas present. In gratitude, Harbor Springs children each donated a penny and presented him with a bouquet of flowers.

As of this printing, the Shay House at 396 E Main St. is currently closed for restoration. It is expected to open in June 2025 as the Ephraim Shay Works Museum with a grand opening scheduled to coincide with Shay Days (July 25-26).

Per the Harbor Springs Historical Society, the space “will feature interactive and hands-on exhibit galleries in the main floor rooms of the stamped-steel hexagon house, demonstrating the importance of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) to economic and societal progress. The open lower level of the house, originally Ephraim Shay’s office, will be renovated to serve as a learning space and event venue, including a catering kitchen.”

Andrew J. Blackbird Museum: Small Space, Big Impact

Odawa chief, civil rights advocate, author, and postmaster, Andrew J. Blackbird was integral to the history of Harbor Springs.

The youngest of 10 children, born in approximately 1815 to an Odawa chief, Blackbird attended Twinsburg Institute in Ohio and then Michigan State Normal School (later Eastern Michigan University.) In 1858, Blackbird purchased this Harbor Springs home for his family; in 1861, he was made postmaster, and villagers picked up their mail in the home’s kitchen. (Blackbird later built the addition which was to serve as the official post office.).

In his role as an official United States interpreter, Blackbird worked with the government to protect tribal rights, including annuities, land claims, and pensions. In 1877 he published the “History of the Ottawa and Chippewa Indians in Michigan.” In that same year, when the community was transitioning into a resort destination, Blackbird was replaced by a white postmaster due to the objections of white residents.

The house, listed on the national register of historic places and deeded to the city in 1964, is located across from the Historical Society at 368 E. Main St.

First Community Bank: Staying Put for Generations

The western section of Main Street is anchored by two more historical sites, First Community Bank and the Harbor Springs Library.

A bank is not much of a draw for tourism, but this imposing Main Street spot illustrates how Harbor Springs fosters deep family connections. Bank founder William J. Clarke left Ireland for Canada in 1872, and four years later settled in Harbor Springs. In 1896, he built the three-story brick landmark at 200 E Main St., which later became the Emmet County State Bank. Unlike so many historical buildings, which often have multiple tenants and uses throughout the decades, it has remained a bank for the entirety of its 129 years.

Five generations later, First Community Bank is still in the family, with numerous branches throughout Michigan. This dedication to community and heritage, unusual for any financial institution in this age of mergers, included a 2016 restoration and refurbishing of the original building.

The Harbor Springs Library: Reading as a Growth Industry

In 1894, Detroiter and summer resident Mrs. George H. Smith joined Mr. Hacket of Fort Wayne, another resorter, and Presbyterian pastor Rev. R.J. Rainey to form the Harbor Springs Christian Association in order to establish a reading room.

The group purchased a small building near the current location and stocked it with donated furnishings, games, and reading materials. Within four years, the library had 200 books; by the following year, 400. In 1904, the HSCA incorporated as a library under Michigan law and purchased property for the current two-story structure at 206 S. Spring St., completed in 1908.

Today, one finds all the technological bells and whistles, but the space retains the original interiors, including the card catalogue. (No longer in use, but revered by bibliophiles everywhere.) Unusual for a public library, it operates as a 501(c)(3), solely dependent upon community support, permanent endowment, grants, and rental income from Kelbel Pharmacy and Howse’s Fudge on the lower level.

Much More to See on Main Street

But those 100-plus-year-old buildings aren’t the only old kids on the block. Main Street architecture is “pretty much all vintage,” says Beth Wemigwase, curator and program coordinator of the Historical Society.

And Downtown Development Authority director Becky Goodman hopes to see historical markers stationed in front of significant buildings in the downtown district. “[We] like the idea of people being able to look at a plaque to [understand] the history of a [building].” Goodman was successful in introducing the same sort of historical signage to downtown Petoskey, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, visit the shops, restaurants, boutiques, confectionaries, and galleries lining Main Street. Goodman tells us there are dozens of distinct businesses on Main Street—so let’s get shopping.

Photos courtesy of the Harbor Springs Historical Society and DDA.

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