Hartwick Pines State Park, Grayling, to Mark 75 Years July 19
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Virgin pines saved from the lumberman's axe are a prime feature of Hartwick Pines State Park. (DNR photo)
Want to see trees as the first visitors to Michigan saw? Go to Hartwick Pines, Grayling, which has some of the few remaining original growth white pines.
Hartwick Pines this year will mark the 75th anniversary of its opening July 19, 1935, at the height of the Great Depression.
The park will be rededicated July 17 during Wood Shavings Days at the Logging Museum.
A historic lumber event and 1890s Medicine Show will be held Sept. 24-26, along with the Lantern Tour of the Logging Museum.
With an area of 9,672 acres, Hartwick Pines is one of the largest state park in the Lower Peninsula.
The park's rolling hills, which are built of ancient glacial deposit, overlook the valley of the East Branch of the AuSable River, four small lakes and unique timber lands.
The principal feature of this park is the 49-acre forest of Old Growth Pines which gives the park its name. This forest is a reminder of Michigan's past importance in the pine lumber industry as well as a source of inspiration for the future of our forests.
The park is rich in scenic beauty and because of the different habitats it encompasses, there is ample subject matter for the sports person, photographer, or naturalist throughout the year. The park is open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. year round.
In 1927, Karen Michelson Hartwick purchased over 8,000 acres of land, which included 85 acres of old growth white pine, from the Salling-Hanson Company of Grayling.
Mrs. Hartwick was a daughter of Nels Michelson, a founding partner of the Salling-Hanson logging company. A short while later, Mrs. Hartwick donated the land to the State of Michigan as a memorial park to be named for her husband, the late Major Edward E. Hartwick of Grayling. Edward Hartwick had died overseas during World War I.
Also wishing to commemorate the logging history of the region and of her family, Karen Hartwick requested that the Hartwick Pines Logging Museum (jointly administered with the Dept. of History, Arts and Libraries) be built in the park.
In 1934 and 1935, a Civilian Conservation Corps work crew located within the park built two log structures to house this museum. Today, the museum uses exhibits, artifacts, and photographs, to recreate the atmosphere of a logging camp and tell the tale of the "shanty boys" who turned Michigan's vast forests into timber. Period settings depicting a bunkhouse, mess hall, blacksmith shop, camp office, and van (store) give the visitor a sense of what logging camp life was like.
Mrs. Hartwick was also involved in the naming of two of the park's lakes. Nels Michelson had a team of oxen which he used for skidding logs out of the forest. They were named Bright and Star. Karen Hartwick requested that the former Alexander Lakes be renamed in their honor. The state board of geographic names felt that there were already too many Star Lakes in Michigan, but they settled on Glory instead, and our Bright Lake and Glory Lake became named after logging oxen.
In November of 1940, a fierce wind storm struck the area of the park and removed nearly half of the old growth pine. Today, only 49 of the original 85 acres remain standing.
Hartwick Pines Logging Museum The Logging Museum is located along the Old Growth Forest Foot Trail, a 1/4 mile walk from the Visitor Center. Open from May 1st through October 31, the museum is closed for the winter season.
Guided, educational experiences are available for schools or groups calling the Visitor Center. The Logging Museum is jointly operated by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources' Parks and Recreation Division and the Michigan Department of History, Arts and Libraries. The Logging Museum is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily from Labor Day through October and May 1st through Memorial Day. It is closed for the winter season from November until April.
Location Hartwick Pines is located in Crawford County, Northeast of Grayling on M-93, Exit 259 off I-75.
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