THOMPSON

Region: Manistique and the Garden Peninsula

A 1860s-vintage three-masted schooner left this harbor for Chicago in 1912 loaded with Christmas trees. It sank in a storm and all hands perished, but its poignant cargo and fate has made it one of the most memorable Great Lakes sinkings. The site also has interesting displays about Thompson's sawmills and shipping history.

Thompson, a large and active township with homes, second homes, and visitor sights, currently looks only like a crossroads at the intersection of U.S. 2 and M-149. That's the road to Indian Lake State Park, the state fish hatchery, and Kitch-Iti-Kipi (Big Spring). The Chicago Lumber Company and others made pine logs into rafts to cross the big lake. Indian Lake's first resorts developed on the lake's southeast side, near Thompson and Manistique. Today resorts and cottages virtually ring the lake. The southeast shore enjoys the nicest setting, with the biggest pines.
Platted in 1882, Thompson was named after the head of the Delta Lumber Company. It soon grew into a busy fishing port and mill town with a sawmill at the mouth of Thompson Creek. By the early 1900s it had six schools, three churches (one Swedish), four saloons, a store, hospital, and hotel. Twice-daily stagecoaches connected it to Manistique and the railway crossing the Upper Peninsula.

Delta Lumber built a tramway out into Lake Michigan so ships could load lumber to avoid shallow waters near shore. For decades, slab wood and other mill waste was hauled out the tramway and dumped, only to be washed back as driftwood.

The Thompson Railroad not only hauled timber to the mill, it took tourists to Big Spring. (See photos, cemetery info, and more history on thompsontownship.mi.com.)

The Rouse Simmons, known as the famous Christmas Tree Ship, departed from Thompson for its ill-fated last voyage. It pushed the limits of the shipping season to deliver Christmas trees to the children of Chicago—earlier than the competition. Actually some 60 such schooners had been in the Christmas tree trade over the years. Most were based in Algoma, Wisconsin. A new Michigan State Historical Marker and tiny park now commemorate the Christmas Tree Ship. It's on CR 435/Little Harbor Road just south from the blinker light. Look for "Thompson Fishing Access Site" signs.

Return to Manistique and the Garden Peninsula

PLACES AROUND THOMPSON TO

Eat Sleep Camp