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SOUVENIR OF
HaH-toac
WUltratioaa
from
Photographs.
PETOSKEYAND
BAY VIEW~~~
~
Accompanied by a Short History and Points of Interest
to Visitors.
Pub1ilbccl by J. c. VAN NESS, Detroit. Micb.
Engr.vin~ b)'
J. MANZ & co.,
Chica~o.
"Van's PrInt"
534 Greenwood Avenue
Detroit.
F
57-1
] SECOND edition. r ~ 1897 .;
"The Pearl of the North," as in has been aptly called, derives its name from
Petoskey old Ne-yas Pe-tos-e-ga, the original owner of the land. He is commonly spoken
of as "Chief Petoskey," and many of his descendants still reside in the vicinity.
The name, which was Anglicised into Ignatius Petoskey, means the break of day,
when the sun touches the hill tops. It is very appropriate, for since it was first started, twenty years ago,
Petoskey has always been "up and dressed." It is on the G. R. & I. road, thirty-five miles south of Mackinaw
City, and is the northern terminus of the C. & W. M. It is situated on the south shore of Little Traverse Bay,
a beautiful sheet of water, bounded on the east by a semi-circle of silvery beach, backed by forest-topred sand
dunes, and broadening gradually as its shores sweep westward some fifteen miles to the open expanse of lake
Michigan.
From the deck of an approaching steamer the city presents a striking appearance. The arc lights, which
range from the water's edge to the crests of the encircling hills, two hundred and seventy feet above, gleam and
flash through the darkness-a coronet of diamonds on the brow of night-and furnish a beacon for vessels far
out upon the lake. By day one sees the main part of the town spead out upon the sides of a vast natural
amphitheater in such a manner that its broad streets, parks and regular squares can be traced as though it were
a map. As the tourist draws nearer he sees tall spires rising above the trees, handsome residences occupying
every commanding point, and substancial business blocks attesting the thrift and prosperity of the place. The
water front, instead of being the unsightly blemish which it is in most cities, is a clean gravelly beach, the
favorite resort of tourists watching with eager eyes for the coral and agates cast up by the restless waves.
Immediately in front is a park, with flowers and fountains. At the left a precipitous limestone cliff overhangs
the railroad that winds along its base, and at the right Bear River hurrys down the narrow gorge it has worne
through the hills, turning the wheels of a dozen busy factories, and still fretting and murmuring over its work
as it tumbles into the blue waters of the bay.
Boulevarded streets, flanked by well-kept lawns in front of comfortable and attractive homes, rise from
the beach so gradually that the visitor does not realize the elevation until he reaches the semi-circular crest
which separates the manufacturing district from the principal business and residence portion of the town.
Then, filling his lungs with the pure and bracing air. washed by its sweep across the waters, he turns his
delighted eye upon the beautiful city, the bay far below, its blue expanse flecked by dashes of white, the
land-locked harbor on the opposite shore, the far-rea~hing we oded hills beyond; and out upon the broad
bosom of Lake Michigan, where, forty miles away, Beaver Islands are distinctly seen, floating upon the hazy
horizon.
Petoskey sun~ets are among the srecial attractions of this famous resort. Nearly every evening in July
and August, upon the broad verandas of the hotels, and the porches and piazzas of boarding houses and
private residences, hundreds of people sit watching the wide, watery, luminous west. Nowhere are such
responsive skies. The shifting shades of crimson and orange and blue mount to the very zenith and play across
the heavens like a borealis arch. A hundred windows burst into flame as the sun drops from behind a low-lying
cloud and sinks into the water-a glowing ball of fire. Silhouetted against the setting sun appears a distant
sail, and row boats fleck the glowing path of gold that shimmers on the waves. Then the shadows deepen, the
colors fade, the stars blossom "in the infinite meadows of heaven," and the purple twilight is laid like a
benediction upon the bending hills.
Among points of interest to visitors at Petoskey are the Indian Scalping Ground, where prisoners were
tortured to death centuries ago, and Marquette's Trail, the path trod by the pious missionary over two hundred
years since, on his way to and from L'Arbre Croche. An artesian well of magnetic mineral water has such
remarkable medicinal properties that the principal object of many yearly visitors is to drink the water and take
the l'aths in the large mineral bath hou~e. The Western Hay Fev~r Associatio:1 of the United tates, composed
of "exiles" at different resorts, has its headquarters at Petoskey.
Although it has important commercial and manufacturing interests, it is as a summer resort that I'etoskey
is best known. A driving park is provided for horsemen, and a recreation park is the scene of frequent base
ball, foot ball, tennis and bicycle contests.. Fishermen, wheelmen, oarsmen and yachtsmen all have rare opportunities
for their favorite amusement, while dress balls and informal hops, and the lectures of the Bay View
Assembly, furnish constant entertainment for people of all sorts of tastes. The multitude of side trips and
excursions to places of interest and neighboring resortS make Petoskey a natural center, and a newspaper
devoted to summer visitors, The Daily Resort", publishes the news, personals and arrivals of the whole resort
region every morning during the season, besides two well established and prosperous weekly papers.
Petoskey is deservedly proud of its many excellent hotels, which together with dozens of boarding houses,
cater to all classes, from those of most expensive tastes to the most economical. The city has a complete
sewerage system, and pure water is supplied from deep artesian wells by a splendid system of water works. The
streets and parks are lighted with arc lights, and the business places and a large proportion of residences with
incandescent electric lights. In short, Petoskey has all the up-to-date conveniences, the dummy trains taking
the place of street cars. The town was started in 1874, on the opening up of the G. R. & I. railroad. Its
unrivaled attractions and advantages caused it to grow rapidly, and it was incorporated as a village in '79 and
became a city in '95. In the character of its schools and churches and fraternal, social, literary and musical
societies, Petoskey is far ahead of most cities of three times its size. This is because its desirability as a home
has caused many people of wealth and refinement to leave their homes in large cities and enjoy well earned rest
and comfort in the most beautiful city on the lakes.
Is exclusively a summer city, all its four or five hundred cottages being closed during
:fBa~ IDlew the winter. It was founded as a Methodist State Camp Ground, the first meeting
being held August 1S[, 1876, with 150 people in attendance. It soon outstripped the
fondest expectations of its founders, ano, although annual camp meetings are still
held, they have been overshadowed by the phenomenal growth of that western Chautauqua, the Bay View
Assembly, and the equally rapid progress of the Bay View Summer University. The Assembly program covers
several weeks and includes the best talent in lectures, concerts, dramatic readings and intellectual entertainments,
and the University offers splendid opportunities for receiving special instructions, by the most competent
instructors, in music, literature, elocution, science and art.
The land consists of about four hundred acres, beautifully wooded with natural forest trees, and laid out
with the best landscape engineering skill. The cottages and villas of Bay View are situated upon a succession of
natural terraces, reaching from the mile of gravelly beach to the forest-crowned summits of lofty hills nearly a
mile from the shore. The trees are just thick enough to furnish grateful shade without obstructing the
health-giving breezes from the water, or hiding from the people swinging lazily in hammocks upon the broad
verandas the beautiful vistas of blue water, white sails and distant hills.
But we have already written more than will be read with patience by those who have never visited these
famous summer retreats, and much more than will be necessary for those who are familiar with their attractions.
The photographs reproduced by the engraver's skill in the pages which follow will give a better idea of Petoskey
and Bay View than can be conveyed in words.
But after all, there are some things that are beyond the reach of the fiu-de-sieele photographer and
engraver. You cannot press the button and catch the kaleidoscopic changes of the bay. No engraver can
represent the rich blending of colors of the emerald setting in which Bay View is gemmed. The most vivid
word painter is powerless to reproduce the beautiful pictures in this charming niche of nature's great art gallery.
If you wish to enjoy the beauty and grandeur of the ocean without the repulsive blemish of the ebb tide;
if you would have the clear, pure air of the summit of Mt. Washington brought down to your very door; if you
would have the soil of your native land beneath your feet, and at the same time above your head the bluest skies
of Italy; if you would float upon the surface of waters so clear that you seem suspended in air; if you would
verify the statement of Dr. Brown-Sequard that there is no climate for the invalid like the pure, bracing, healthgiving
air of Northern Michigan-spend your summers at Petoskey and Bay View, the most delightful summer
resorts between the two oceans.
Rustic Cottage in G. R. & L Park.
Steamboat Landing and Agate Shops.
A Rough Day. Cliff of Solid Lime Stone.
G. R. & L Railroad Park.
Evelyn Hall, Bay View• W. C. T. U. Headquarters.
The Famous Artesian WeD.
One of the Terraces at Bay View.
Hitchcock Halt. Bay View.
Strut Scene, Looking North on Howard and Park Struts.
Strut Scene, looking South on Howard Strut.
Strut Scene, looking South on Howard Strut.
Harbor Springs Boat Landing. Roaring Brook.
Boat Houses at Harbor Point.
C. & W. M. Railway Park.
Strut Scene, looking West on Mitchell ~trut.
Excunion Steamer Thomas Friant.
Street Scene, looking West on Lake Street.
End of Pier in Winter, after a heavy storm.
End of Pier in Winter, after a heavy storm.
