CHARLEVOIX, MICHIGAN

The City of Charlevoix is located in northwest Michigan. The City borders on picturesque Round Lake, Lake Michigan, and Lake Charlevoix. Charlevoix first became a village in 1871 and was later established as a city in 1905. It has a year round population of roughly 3,000 people. The population increases dramatically in the summer months due to tourism and the high number of vacation/seasonal homes.   Soon after its formation in the 1850s, Charlevoix entered into a short lived conflict with Jesse Strang, leader and namesake of the Strangite Mormons, and then king of Beaver Island. Relations between Charlevoix residents and the Strangites were often tense. In 1853, a gunfight broke out between the two groups as the townspeople refused to hand over a man who was called for jury duty on the island, an event known locally as The Battle of Pine River. When Strang was assassinated on June 20, 1856, many believed residents from Charlevoix to be responsible.  The town was also the location of several “Clubs” which were areas in the town and associations where houses were built.  The pictures of yesterday of the painted ladies were taken in the Belvedere Club; there are also the Chicago and the Sequanota Clubs.  The waters of Round Lake and Lake Charlevoix are crystal clear and you can see all the way to the bottom.  The water had always been clear but with the invasion of the zebra mussel they have become crystal clear as the mussel has and is consuming the plankton.

Included in yesterday’s blog was a reference to the John Winn house.  Below is a picture of that house.  The large openings at water level are the entrances to his boat house and yes they can be closed.

One of the town’s notable features is its collection of “Mushroom Houses”.  They are best described as the digs of Hansel and Gretel, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, as well as Little Red Riding Hood's grandma.

Earl Young, a real estate developer who stood at 5-feet-4, loved the cozy cottages in the rural areas of Great Britain. From the 1920s-1970s, he transferred these images to Charlevoix and built, without plans, many homes and several commercial buildings, including the Weathervane Terrace Hotel.  (Imagine going into a town today and telling the building inspector that you are building a house without plans.)

The Ice Age boulders of the Great Lakes region were Young’s favorite building material. They became his signature, along with the wavy, overhanging shingled roofs he used. These give the smaller homes a mushroom-like shape.