Garden is a small village situated on the Garden Peninsula, where Garden Creek flows into Garden Bay, an inlet of Big Bay de Noc, which opens onto Green Bay, on Lake Michigan.
Garden is northeast of Fayette State Park, and is served by M-183, which connects the village to US-2, to the north, and Fayette State Park, about eight miles away, following the route of the locally designated OO 25 Road, 16th Road, LL Road, and 14th Road. The northern boundary of the village is 17th Road, and its southern boundary is 16th Road, while its eastern boundary is in line with North 15 Road, although that road ends at 17th Road, at the village's northeastern corner.
Garden is in Garden Township, in Delta County, in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The nearest cities to Garden are Manistique and Gladstone. Manistique is 19.3 miles from Garden, but 25 miles by car, while Gladstone is 23.32 miles away, as the crow flies, but 38 miles by car.
The first recorded European-American settler in the area was Philomen Thompson, who built a cabin there in 1850. Although not much of a record was kept, most of the early settlers in Garden were of Métis origin. Found in Canada and parts of the United States, the Métis are of mixed indigenous and French ancestry but considered a distinct culture in Canada.
The community was known as Haley's Bay or Garden Bay, but when a post office was established there on September 7, 1865, it was named Garden, and Asel Y. Bailey served as the first postmaster. The village was named for Garden Township, which was itself a reference to the fertility of the soil. The post office was closed on January 30, 1871, but restored from September 20, 1872, to April 27, 1874. Garden was incorporated as a village in 1886.
Except for a 24.5% increase in population in 1940, the village's population has been in a decline since 1910 when it had reached its peak population of 497. At the time of the 2010 census, its population was 221, but is expected to decline further in the 2020 census.
On Lake Michigan, its climate is characterized by sharp seasonal variations, with warm to hot, and humid, summers and severely cold winters.
The focal point of this category is on the village of Garden, Michigan. Appropriate resources include websites representing the village itself, or any individuals, businesses, educational programs, churches, organizations, attractions, or events.
Although Fayette Historic State Park is a few miles southwest of Garden, it carries a Garden postal address as Garden is the nearest incorporated community, and the only one on the Garden Peninsula. The park is on the site of the former town of Fayette, named for Fayette Brown of the Jackson Iron Company, which created the town in 1867 while building a charcoal iron smelter. Fayette was an industrial community that manufactured charcoal pig iron from 1867 to 1891. When I was twelve, my cousins and I peddled our bicycles from our homes in Wallace, a distance of about a hundred miles, and camped in Fayette for a couple of days. Other than us, there was no human presence in Fayette, in 1963, although it was designated a state park in 1959. Today, the ghost town is a living museum with more than twenty buildings accessible to the public, and others under restoration.
Topics related to Fayette or the Fayette Historic Townsite may be listed here, as well.
Recommended Resources
Situated on the site of the ghost town of Fayette, Michigan, a former iron smelting town, the state park surrounds Snail Shell Harbor in Lake Michigan. Visitors may arrive by boat or car, experience cliff-side hikes, hammock camp in the park's campground, and, within the season, visit more than twenty historic buildings, as well as the park's visitor center, with a living history depicting life in the 19th-century industrial town. Reservations may be made from the site.
https://www2.dnr.state.mi.us/parksandtrails/Details.aspx?id=417&type=SPRK
Formed as an industrial community that manufactured pig iron between 1867 and 1891, the ghost town is now part of Fayette Historic State Park, which features more than twenty historic buildings that visitors can visit while in season, with others under renovation. Admission is free with a Michigan State Parks recreation passport. Season dates and hours are posted, along with its address and directions, a map showing the location of the site, parking information, and a list of amenities.
https://www.michigan.gov/mhc/0,9075,7-361-85147_87241---,00.html
The Upper Peninsula township includes the village of Garden and the unincorporated communities of Garden Corners and Isabella. The official township website posts contact information for its elected officials and staff, township board meeting schedules, agendas, and minutes, as well as schedules for township commissions. Telephone numbers and a contact form are included, and ordinances, easements, resolutions, agreements, and policy notices are published to the site.
https://www.gardentwp.com/
Part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Marquette, Saint John the Baptist in Garden, Michigan offers a Sunday morning Mass, with other Mass schedules in nearby communities. The pastor is identified, along with the physical and mailing addresses of the church, church telephone and fax numbers, an email address, and the church secretary's hours. The diocese is highlighted, with information about the Roman Catholic Church's beliefs and teachings, church administration, and Catholic living.
https://www.dioceseofmarquette.org/gardenareachuch
The 100-year-old building was purchased in 1983, and opened in 1985, operated by The Village Artisans, a non-profit organization in Garden, Michigan, which has sponsored art classes, workshops, music and drama productions, lectures, demonstrations, and enrichment programs, holding an annual raffle and, at a time, other events. Artist biographies are presented, along with featured artists and crafters, membership information, and information about its programs and activities.
http://www.villageartisansofgarden.org/
