August 6, 2025 • 6 mins
In this episode of End of the Road in Michigan, we take you back to the early 1900s, when Saugatuck transformed from a quiet lumber town into a vibrant summer retreat for Chicago’s city dwellers. You’ll hear how steamships, interurban trains, and hand-cranked ferries brought thousands to this lakeshore village.
We revisit the days of the Big Pavilion, where electric lights lit up the harbor and music echoed across the water, and follow vacationers over Mt. Baldhead to the soft sands of Oval Beach.
This episode also explores Saugatuck’s artistic legacy, with the founding of the Ox-Bow Summer School of Painting, and uncovers local stories — including Prohibition-era intrigue and the town’s growing reputation as a welcoming, creative community.
It’s a story of reinvention, leisure, and the rhythms of summer that still echo today.
We revisit the days of the Big Pavilion, where electric lights lit up the harbor and music echoed across the water, and follow vacationers over Mt. Baldhead to the soft sands of Oval Beach.
This episode also explores Saugatuck’s artistic legacy, with the founding of the Ox-Bow Summer School of Painting, and uncovers local stories — including Prohibition-era intrigue and the town’s growing reputation as a welcoming, creative community.
It’s a story of reinvention, leisure, and the rhythms of summer that still echo today.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
This is the end of the road in Michigan, where we journey through the history, people,
(00:05):
and stories of Michigan's thumb and great lake's coastlines. Today we travel west to the mouth of
the Kalamazoo River, a place where the river meets Lake Michigan, where sand dunes rise against
the sky, and where generations of Chicago families came for rest, romance, and the rhythm of summer.
(00:26):
This is the story of SagaTuck Michigan in the early 1900s. In the 1830s, settlers came here for
lumber and the river's safe harbor. Scooners carried sawd timber across the lake to Millwaukey and
Chicago. For decades the forest was Michigan's gold, but by the late 1800s the timber was gone.
(00:50):
The mills were quiet, and SagaTuck stood at a crossroads. What remained though was remarkable,
a wide river mouth, towering dunes, broad sandy beaches, and a harbor deep enough to welcome
ships from across Lake Michigan. These were not resources for industry, but for leisure,
(01:11):
and in that SagaTuck found its second life. By the turn of the century, Chicago was a city of
smoke, noise, and relentless heat in summer. Those who could afford it sought escape,
and SagaTuck, just far enough to feel like another world, offered exactly that.
Reaching the village was an adventure. Vacationers boarded steamships in Chicago for the day-long trip
(01:38):
across the lake, arriving in nearby Holland. From there the electric interurban rail brought them to
the river's edge. Others came entirely by train. And at the end of the journey many crossed the
Kalamazoo river by the chain fairy, a simple hand-cranked boat that inched its way across the current.
By 1909 SagaTuck's summer scene had a crown jewel, the big pavilion. It rose above the river like a
(02:07):
glowing palace, its high arched roof and four towers outlined with thousands of electric bulbs.
Inside Chicago orchestras played the latest music. Couples glided across the vast maple dance floor.
From the balcony onlookers watched as the lights spilled out onto the river. On summer nights,
(02:27):
the pavilions music mingled with the sound of waves lapping against the docks. Days were for the outdoors.
Visitors crossed the river to climb Mount Baldhead, then raced down at steep sandy slope to oval beach.
There were picnic lunches in the dunes, swims in the cool lake water, and long afternoons under wide
(02:48):
brimmed hats. Before the 1930s there was no road to the beach. You got there by boat, by fairy,
or by walking over the dune itself. Hotels welcomed the summer crowds.
The hotel butler, once a grist mill, was transformed into a grand inn at the heart of the village.
(03:09):
The Mount Baldhead Hotel in the shadow of the dune offered verandas with river views and the sound
of the lake just over the hill. Meals featured fresh fish from local waters and produce from nearby farms.
Art gave SagaTuck a unique character. In 1910 Chicago artists founded the Oxbow Summer School of Painting
(03:32):
along a quiet bend in the river. Students painted in the open air, capturing the dunes and harbor
in oils and watercolors. The school hosted exhibits and costume balls that blended SagaTuck's
artistic and social worlds. It was here that the town earned its nickname, the Art Coast of Michigan.
By the 1920s and 30s, the town's summer identity was complete. Chicago ones returned year after
(04:00):
year, the big pavilions lights, the fairies' slow pull across the river, and the golden sand of
oval beach became a tradition passed down through generations. We'll be right back after this short
message. Not all the stories from SagaTuck's resort years were about dance halls and sunny beaches.
Some carried a whiff of intrigue. During prohibition, SagaTuck's out-of-the-way location
(04:25):
made it a useful hideout for Chicago bootleggers. There were whispers of mob figures enjoying quiet
weekends here, their speedboats slipping across the lake under the cover of darkness. One local story
tells of a jealous mobster firing a pistol into a hotel ceiling after spotting his date talking
to another man. Whether all the tales were true or not, they added a certain thrill to the town's
(04:51):
reputation. Chicago's influence went beyond the summer crowds. Artists, musicians, and free
thinkers found SagaTuck to be a place of welcome. It was, even then, a community more open than most
small Midwestern towns. The mix of locals, vacationers, and seasonal residents created a rhythm
(05:12):
all its own, and at the center of it all, the big pavilion remained the heart. On busy nights,
special late trains carried dancers back to Holland. Theme parties filled the hall, from pajama
dances to farmer's nights, blending big city fun with small town playfulness. Outside, lantern-lit
(05:33):
boat parades glided along the river. The music and laughter carried on the wind. Over time,
SagaTuck's resort era evolved, the pavilion stood for more than 50 years before fire took it in
1960. The inner urban trains are gone, the old hotels have changed, and the chain fairy is now a
novelty instead of a necessity. But much of the early 1900s charm still lingers. You can still cross
(06:01):
the river on that little fairy. You can still climb Mount Baldhead and look out across the blue
expanse of Lake Michigan. And if you listen closely on a warm summer night, you might imagine the
faint echo of an orchestra playing from across the water. From lumber port to lakeshore playground,
SagaTuck's story is one of reinvention, a place made unique by its natural beauty, its creative
(06:26):
spirit, and the people who came here seeking summer's ease. For Chicagoans, it was an escape.
For Michigan, it became a legend of the shore. This has been the end of the road in Michigan.
Thanks for listening.
This is the end of the road in Michigan, where we journey through the history, people,
(00:05):
and stories of Michigan's thumb and great lake's coastlines. Today we travel west to the mouth of
the Kalamazoo River, a place where the river meets Lake Michigan, where sand dunes rise against
the sky, and where generations of Chicago families came for rest, romance, and the rhythm of summer.
(00:26):
This is the story of SagaTuck Michigan in the early 1900s. In the 1830s, settlers came here for
lumber and the river's safe harbor. Scooners carried sawd timber across the lake to Millwaukey and
Chicago. For decades the forest was Michigan's gold, but by the late 1800s the timber was gone.
(00:50):
The mills were quiet, and SagaTuck stood at a crossroads. What remained though was remarkable,
a wide river mouth, towering dunes, broad sandy beaches, and a harbor deep enough to welcome
ships from across Lake Michigan. These were not resources for industry, but for leisure,
(01:11):
and in that SagaTuck found its second life. By the turn of the century, Chicago was a city of
smoke, noise, and relentless heat in summer. Those who could afford it sought escape,
and SagaTuck, just far enough to feel like another world, offered exactly that.
Reaching the village was an adventure. Vacationers boarded steamships in Chicago for the day-long trip
(01:38):
across the lake, arriving in nearby Holland. From there the electric interurban rail brought them to
the river's edge. Others came entirely by train. And at the end of the journey many crossed the
Kalamazoo river by the chain fairy, a simple hand-cranked boat that inched its way across the current.
By 1909 SagaTuck's summer scene had a crown jewel, the big pavilion. It rose above the river like a
(02:07):
glowing palace, its high arched roof and four towers outlined with thousands of electric bulbs.
Inside Chicago orchestras played the latest music. Couples glided across the vast maple dance floor.
From the balcony onlookers watched as the lights spilled out onto the river. On summer nights,
(02:27):
the pavilions music mingled with the sound of waves lapping against the docks. Days were for the outdoors.
Visitors crossed the river to climb Mount Baldhead, then raced down at steep sandy slope to oval beach.
There were picnic lunches in the dunes, swims in the cool lake water, and long afternoons under wide
(02:48):
brimmed hats. Before the 1930s there was no road to the beach. You got there by boat, by fairy,
or by walking over the dune itself. Hotels welcomed the summer crowds.
The hotel butler, once a grist mill, was transformed into a grand inn at the heart of the village.
(03:09):
The Mount Baldhead Hotel in the shadow of the dune offered verandas with river views and the sound
of the lake just over the hill. Meals featured fresh fish from local waters and produce from nearby farms.
Art gave SagaTuck a unique character. In 1910 Chicago artists founded the Oxbow Summer School of Painting
(03:32):
along a quiet bend in the river. Students painted in the open air, capturing the dunes and harbor
in oils and watercolors. The school hosted exhibits and costume balls that blended SagaTuck's
artistic and social worlds. It was here that the town earned its nickname, the Art Coast of Michigan.
By the 1920s and 30s, the town's summer identity was complete. Chicago ones returned year after
(04:00):
year, the big pavilions lights, the fairies' slow pull across the river, and the golden sand of
oval beach became a tradition passed down through generations. We'll be right back after this short
message. Not all the stories from SagaTuck's resort years were about dance halls and sunny beaches.
Some carried a whiff of intrigue. During prohibition, SagaTuck's out-of-the-way location
(04:25):
made it a useful hideout for Chicago bootleggers. There were whispers of mob figures enjoying quiet
weekends here, their speedboats slipping across the lake under the cover of darkness. One local story
tells of a jealous mobster firing a pistol into a hotel ceiling after spotting his date talking
to another man. Whether all the tales were true or not, they added a certain thrill to the town's
(04:51):
reputation. Chicago's influence went beyond the summer crowds. Artists, musicians, and free
thinkers found SagaTuck to be a place of welcome. It was, even then, a community more open than most
small Midwestern towns. The mix of locals, vacationers, and seasonal residents created a rhythm
(05:12):
all its own, and at the center of it all, the big pavilion remained the heart. On busy nights,
special late trains carried dancers back to Holland. Theme parties filled the hall, from pajama
dances to farmer's nights, blending big city fun with small town playfulness. Outside, lantern-lit
(05:33):
boat parades glided along the river. The music and laughter carried on the wind. Over time,
SagaTuck's resort era evolved, the pavilion stood for more than 50 years before fire took it in
1960. The inner urban trains are gone, the old hotels have changed, and the chain fairy is now a
novelty instead of a necessity. But much of the early 1900s charm still lingers. You can still cross
(06:01):
the river on that little fairy. You can still climb Mount Baldhead and look out across the blue
expanse of Lake Michigan. And if you listen closely on a warm summer night, you might imagine the
faint echo of an orchestra playing from across the water. From lumber port to lakeshore playground,
SagaTuck's story is one of reinvention, a place made unique by its natural beauty, its creative
(06:26):
spirit, and the people who came here seeking summer's ease. For Chicagoans, it was an escape.
For Michigan, it became a legend of the shore. This has been the end of the road in Michigan.
Thanks for listening.
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