Town of the Week

Cheboygan, Michigan
July 29, 2000

Head over to Cheboygan, Michigan; just listen in.

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At one time, there were five steamboat lines whistling in the harbor of this week's town.

It's located on the southern end of the straits of Mackinac, on the shore of Lake Huron. Fifteen miles southwest of Mackinac Island, Cheboygan, Michigan is a harbor town with a Victorian flavor. It's located at the mouth of the Cheboygan River, an Indian name meaning "through passage".

Unlike Wisconsin's Sheboygan, this Cheboygan starts with the letter C. When Cheboygan became a city in 1889, it was called the hub city, then old Rivertown, and today is known by its many area lighthouses.

Cheboygan's past is captured in the county Historical Museum downtown, near the old opera house. While lumbering used to be the largest employer in this town of 5,000, today it's Community Memorial Health Care. For outdoor enthusiasts, there are lots of parks including the Gordon Turner Park with a panoramic view of yachts bobbing in the harbor of Lake Huron.

The largest ice-breaker on the great lakes is located at the Cheboygan port, the coast guard cutter Mackinaw. This is the home of the high school Chiefs, and its our Town of the Week, Cheboygan, Michigan.