By Rail, Boat, or Otherwise: Charlevoix looks to the future as it celebrates its past

What’s happening: As the Charlevoix Historical Society readies the release of a “landmark
new publication” regarding the region’s waterways, the award-winning organization also
celebrates a recently acquired grant in support of a different transportation-focused storytelling
project.

Forward momentum: Having won the Michigan Governor’s Award for Historic Preservation in
2025, the Charlevoix Historical Society pushes its momentum into the early months of 2026.
Late last month, the organization announced the forthcoming release of “The City on Three
Lakes: A Maritime History of Charlevoix & the Surrounding Region.” And in mid-March, the
organization secured a $28,760 America250MI History Grant in support of its Tracks to Tourism:
How the Railroad Shaped Charlevoix exhibit.

One if by land: The planned railroad history exhibit comes as part of the historical society’s
contribution to the U.S. Semiquincentennial history program, a nationwide celebration of the
250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The Michigan Department
of Natural Resources has partnered with the Michigan History Center and Historical Society of
Michigan to administer the grants, with more than $1 million awarded to 45 communities and
history organizations throughout Michigan as part of this latest round.

“Looking at the list of the largest Tier 3 awardees, we are thrilled to see some smaller
organizations and better representation in both the northern Lower Peninsula and the Upper
Peninsula in this round,” says Larry J. Wagenaar, executive director and CEO of the Historical
Society of Michigan.

Two if by sea: Touted as “the Society’s most ambitious project in more than a generation” is
The City on Three Lakes: A Maritime History of Charlevoix & the Surrounding Region, a
museum-quality book on the city and region’s maritime identity that weighs in at more than 675
pages. Researchers drew from the Society’s collection of more than 40,000 historic
photographs with more than 875 included in the final publication, including many that have
never been published.

Why it’s important: “We have never produced a book of such scale and quality,” says David L.
Miles, who co-authored the book with Ole Lyngklip. “We are thrilled to bring this definitive
source of Charlevoix area history to a new audience, and to continue celebrating the unique
stories that make it one of the true jewels of northern Michigan.”

The Michigan-based Mission Point Press is expected to publish “The City on Three Lakes: A
Maritime History of Charlevoix & the Surrounding Region” in June/July 2026.