Bishop Frederic Baraga was the first bishop of Marquette. For 37 years, he was a missionary priest among the Indians and settlers in the Upper Great Lakes. His presence shaped the region, and he is revered for his defending Native American lands during treaty land acquisition by the U.S. Government.

Father Frederick Baraga, the Catholic missionary known as the “Snowshoe Priest.” In this episode, we explore Baraga’s 37-year mission across Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and his unwavering support of Indigenous communities. From his work documenting the Ojibwa language to his treks through harsh winters, Baraga’s legacy is one of cultural preservation, compassion, and resilience. His influence still echoes through churches, schools, and statues across the Great Lakes region. This is the story of a man who walked across frozen wilderness not just to preach but to protect.

The Lost Jewish Farming Colony of Palestine, Michigan

In the late 1800s, a bold experiment unfolded in Michigan’s Thumb. Backed by the powerful Baron de Hirsch, a group of Russian Jewish immigrants tried to carve out a new life on 1,200 acres northeast of Bad Axe. Their settlement, named the Palestine Colony, was part of a broader international effort to resettle persecuted Jews through agriculture.

This episode uncovers the hopes, hardships, and legacy of this short-lived community—why it was formed, what happened to its settlers, and how echoes of their journey still remain in Huron County. Learn about the figures who made it possible, including Rabbi William Martin and financier Frank W. Hubbard, and hear how this piece of forgotten Michigan history ties into a global movement for Jewish resettlement.

Adapted from Thumbwind.com, this is a tale from the edge of the Great Lakes—and from the end of the road.

#MichiganHistory #JewishHeritage #Thumbwind #EndOfTheRoadPodcast #HuronCounty

The Chilly Sebewaing Fish Town of 1878

In the brutal Michigan winter of 1878, when mercury barely rose above zero, hundreds of fishing families in Sebewaing didn’t retreat—they built a village on the ice. This episode recounts the true story of how families hauled homes onto the frozen Saginaw Bay, cut holes in the ice, and fished for survival. These makeshift shanties became a self-sufficient ice town, complete with camaraderie, hardship, and ingenuity.

Drawn from local reports and reimagined from Thumbwind.com, this is a gritty slice of frontier life on the Great Lakes—when the only way through winter was to build your future directly on the ice.

White Rock – Sacred Stone of Michigan’s Thumb

Before highways and harbors, there was the White Rock. Just offshore north of Forestville, this massive limestone outcrop was a sacred site to the Anishinaabe, who left offerings to the Great Spirit for the land’s abundance.

This episode traces the spiritual, cultural, and historical importance of White Rock—from its ancient role as a ceremonial site to its mention in explorer Henry Schoolcraft’s 1820 journal during his expedition with Lewis Cass. Once towering and visible from miles away, today it sits mostly submerged, its legacy hidden but not forgotten. 

Adapted from Thumbwind.com, this is a layered story of reverence, removal, and remembrance from Michigan’s Thumb.

Before Michigan’s highways crisscrossed the landscape, there were the trails — narrow, well-worn paths tread by generations of Native Americans.

This episode covers two well-known Indian trails in Michigan. The St Joseph Trail, which runs east-west from Ann Arbor to Niles, Michigan, and the Saginaw Trail, which starts in Detroit and ends in the former native American village known as Saginaw. Today, both of these former trials are now major highways and the location of the Detroit Dream Cruise.

These thoroughfares not only connected villages and trading hubs but later influenced the development of modern roadways across the state.

Learn how these trails carved the early infrastructure of Michigan and why their legacy is still felt today in the routes we travel daily.

"Ancient Tribes and the Giant Oak – Michigan’s Thumb Before Settlement"

In this episode of End of the Road in Michigan, we travel back to a time before European settlers arrived in Michigan’s Thumb region. We recount the history of the Anishinaabe people, whose deep connection to the land made the Thumb a prized hunting and gathering territory. Conflicts between Native American tribes shaped the region's early history, leaving a legacy still visible today.

You'll also hear the fascinating story of Seabewing's Giant Oak, a natural landmark that stood as a silent witness to the unfolding centuries.

Tune in for a look at a Michigan you won't find in textbooks — rich with stories of survival, tradition, and ancient roots.

This episode of End of the Road in Michigan tells the story of Point Aux Barques, a summer resort community shaped by the expansion of the railroads. What began as a transportation route became a destination, where Midwestern families sought quiet summers on the shores of Lake Huron. Learn how the rail lines brought more than freight—they brought the start of Michigan’s vacation culture.

In this episode of End of the Road in Michigan, we travel back to the height of the lumber boom to explore one of the Great Lakes region’s lost company towns. Entirely owned by a single firm, this once-thriving settlement embodied the economic highs and social constraints of Michigan’s timber industry in the 1800s. We look at how these towns operated, what made them vanish, and what traces, if any, remain today.

Near the tip of the eastern side of Michigan’s thumb lies a small cluster of neatly appointed cottages and mobile homes. Some have a commanding view of Lake Huron. This neighborhood is situated near the New River, a creek. There is a street with a neat name Tip O Thumb Drive. It describes the neighborhood perfectly. It’s almost idyllic. The question is, did someone develop this as a neighborhood during the post-World War II cottage boom? Surprisingly, this cottage retirement community is way older than that.

Read the entire story at A Lost Lumber and Company Town – New River Michigan.

On the eastern edge of Michigan’s Thumb lies a lonely and very rocky cove on the shore of Lake Huron. It’s hard to imagine that this beautiful remote setting was the site for criminal activity during the time of Michigan Prohibition for over 12 years.

During Michigan’s Prohibition era, a quiet cove along Lake Huron became a covert gateway for illegal liquor. This episode of End of the Road in Michigan uncovers the dark past of Whiskey Harbor—a rugged shoreline near Huron County that once served as a smuggling point for the infamous Purple Gang.

We take you back to the 1920s and 30s, when organized crime turned Michigan’s Thumb into a key corridor for booze shipments from Canada. It’s a gritty, little-known chapter of local history featuring rum-runners, limestone shores, and federal agents in pursuit.

Read the full story at Michigan Prohibition – 16 Years Of Bootlegging At Huron’s Whiskey Harbor.

Before highways and airliners, the most stylish way to travel across the Great Lakes was aboard a cruise ship. This episode of End of the Road in Michigan explores the golden era of freshwater cruising, from the mid-1800s to the 1950s, when ships transported passengers in luxury from port to port.

Today, cruise travel on the lakes is making a comeback, and we trace its roots to the heyday of elegant vessels like the SS South American and the SS Noronic. Hear how these floating hotels connected cities, built tourism, and left a lasting legacy on Michigan’s maritime culture.

Now that cruising the Great Lakes is making a comeback, this is a story you might want to hear before you venture out.

Read more at Great Lakes Cruising History - 100 Luxurious Years of Travel.