Port Hope, Michigan is a small village in Huron County, in the northeast part of the Thumb Region of the Lower Peninsula.
Surrounded by Rubicon Township, Stafford County Park takes up a large portion of the north segment of the village. The 38-acre park features seventy-three sites, six cabins, and both modern, tent, and group camping facilities. It also serves as a site for softball tournaments and other recreational activities. Built in 1858, the Sawmill Chimney, a national historic monument, is adjacent to a pavilion on the waterfront.
The chief route through the village is M-25 (Lakeshore Road), Port Hope Road (Portland Avenue), Ruppel Road (Main Street), Redman Road (State Road), and Kinde Road.
Cities and villages within twenty-five miles of Port Hope include Harbor Beach, Kinde, Port Austin, Forestville, Minden City, and Bad Axe, while the unincorporated communities of Lewisville, Redman, Huron City, and Glencoe are within ten miles.
In 1851 Reuben DiMond acquired patents on timberland in the area. In 1857, William Southerd and a man named Witcher, while drifting in a small skiff, came ashore at Port Hope, and it was Mr. Southerd who named the place Port Hope after acquiring land there.
Later, William R. Stafford bought the DiMond and Southerd claims and opened the area up to lumbering. In 1858, he built a dock and opened a lumber mill and other mills. As a community grew up around the mills, the Stafford and Haywood lumber firm was the principal proprietors of land in the area, and the place was often referred to as Stafford.
However, when a post office was established on January 6, 1860, with Mr. Stafford as postmaster, it assumed the name of Port Hope. The community was incorporated as a village in 1887.
After an 1871 fire, Port Hope was able to return to lumbering, but a second fire in 1881 destroyed the area's timber resources, after which agriculture became the focus of the area's economy. Mr. Stafford built a flour mill, a grain elevator, and a new dock. A branch line of the Pere Marquette Railroad ended at Port Hope in 1903.
Today, Port Hope is largely a residential community, with some summer visitation due to its location along Lake Huron.
The focal point of this portion of our guide is on the village of Port Hope, Michigan. Online resources representing the village or any other governmental entities, as well as local businesses, industries, schools, churches, organizations, attractions, events, or recreational opportunities are appropriate for this category.
Recommended Resources
Friends of the Port Hope Depot
Built for the Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad in 1904, the depot building was used for a number of purposes since the railroad closed its depot in Port Hope, Michigan. In 2012, the volunteer organization moved the depot from its original location to a new site in Stafford County Park. The depot history, an introduction to the organization, a photo gallery, and a list of sponsors are acknowledged, along with its address, telephone numbers, and a printable donation form.
http://www.porthopedepot.org/
Featuring one-, two-, and three-bedroom cabin rentals on the Lake Huron shores, Lightkeepers Cottages include eight rental facilities, incline five 2-bedroom cabins, two 1-bedroom cabins, and a 3-bedroom house, each with a fully-equipped kitchen, bathroom with shower, living room, and dining area. Adjacent to Lighthouse Park, the cabins have views of the Port aux Barques Lighthouse. Each cabin is highlighted, with photographs, rates, availability information, and rental data.
https://lightkeepersporthope.com/
Founded in 2015, Hope Activity Center is a Christian facility that includes a full cafeteria, lending library, computer lab, regulation gymnasium, as well as event spaces for birthdays, showers, reunions, and other activities, less than a half-mile from Lake Michigan, as well as twelve acres of green space, outdoor playground equipment, and ball fields. A schedule of ongoing events is published on the site, a photo gallery is available, and contents and rates are posted.
https://porthopeactivitycenter.weebly.com/
Affiliated with Harbor Beach Community Hospital, the clinic is located on North Lakeshore Road in Port Hope, Michigan, where it provides a variety of diagnostic and medical services, which are listed and defined here, along with a list of insurance programs that the clinic participates in, the clinic's business hours, address, and both phone and fax numbers. Other medical services provided by HBCH are featured, along with other medical facilities associated with HBCH.
https://www.hbch.org/port-hope-clinic
Situated in Rubicon Township, the village of Port Hope is in Huron County, in the Thumb Region of the Lower Peninsula. The official municipal website includes a brief profile and history of the village, a list of members of the village council, meeting schedules, meeting minutes, and a map showing its location. The Port Hope Chamber of Commerce is featured, along with business services, and a guide to local attractions, events, businesses, churches, museums, and civic organizations is included.
https://porthopemich.com/
St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church
Established in 1868, and affiliated with the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, the church sanctuary is at the corner of Second Street and State Street, in Port Hope, Michigan. Physical and mailing addresses are noted, along with office hours, phone and fax numbers, an email address, and an online contact form. Worship schedules, links to video-recorded services, church bulletins, church newsletters, adult Bible study schedules, and links to the Synod and district websites are provided.
http://www.stjohnporthope.org/
