Historical Information
Historical information provided in this area consists of personal oral histories, personal photograph collections, selected books in print, links on the Internet, etc. Documents provided in digital formats can be viewed using the free software indicated in the footnotes below.
Contributed Essays
- • William G Boales Jr: on his father's coming to South Manitou Island.
- • Bonnie Belmer: A Little Girl Named Mae
- • Bonnie Belmer: Heartbreak on South Manitou ~ A Child of the Island Was Lost
- • Bonnie Belmer: Lottie Hutzler on Island Residents c 1898 — 1900 and where they lived
- • Sandra (Thompson) Black: Thomas And Theodore Thompson (Monograph)
- • Sandra (Thompson) Black: Captain Floyd Sigval Thompson (Monograph)
- • Myrtle Kelderhouse: Experiences of An Island School Teacher
- • Fred Hollister: The Night the Congress Burned
Personal Collections of Photographs and Documents
- • Phyllis Begens Collection: William Burton families
- • David Morris Collection: August Beck families
- • Joseph Orbeck Jr. Collection: Shank/Huzler/Krause families
- • Doreen (Simmon) Pavlik: Images from North Manitou Island
- • Merlene (Warner) Richardson Collection: Haas/Warner/VanderWagen families
- • Boales/Riker Collection: William Boales/Edward & Esther Riker families
- • Ronald Rosie Jr. Collection: Ronald & Johanna Rosie lightkeeper family
- • Rosie (Haas) Warner Collection: Hutzler/Haas/Warner families
- • Linda (Hanson) Wibalda Collection: Harrison Haas family
MIA Biographical Essays
- • Chris Ankerson of South Manitou Island
- • Albert W Bacon - Leelanau/Grand Traverse "Land Mogul"
- • The Becks of South Manitou Island
- • Putnam Burdick of South Manitou Island
- • The Burtons of South Manitou Island
- • The Haas Families of South Manitou Island
- • The Hutzlers of South Manitou Island
- • The Johnson/Thompson Family of South Manitou Island
• August 1972 Interview with George & Goldie Johnson
- • Edwin H. Munger - Erie Canal Captain — Marine Contractor — Land Speculator
- • Peter Nenno - Original Owner of South Manitou's Sandy Point
- • The Sheridans: Pioneer Families of the Glen Arbor Area and South Manitou Island
Island Surveys & Land Patents
- • Original Orange Risdon Island Surveys: Maps & Field Notes, U.S. Bureau of Land Mgmt
- • North Manitou Island: Land Patents, Documents and Landholdings (interactive map)
- • South Manitou Island: Land Patents, Documents and Landholdings (interactive map)
Books and Videos
- • Tom VanZoeren's Oral History Series ~ Excerpts from Tom's growing list of publications and streaming audio clips.
- North Manitou Island
- • Furst, Glenn C: My Point of View, Personal Memoir of a North Manitou Lightkeeper's Stepson. Self-Published, 1992.
- • Rosterman, Christine J, Pesano, John and Rusco, Rita H: Hiking North Manitou ~ Island, Sights, Sounds and History (VHS video) Hesperia, MI 2000.
- • Ruchhoft, Robert H: Exploring North Manitou, South Manitou, High and Garden Islands of the Lake Michigan Archipelago ISBN: 0-940029-02-2
- • Rusco, Rita Hadra: North Manitou Island – Between Sunrise to Sunset
- South Manitou Island
- • Don Roy's South Manitou Island Bibliography - An extensive list of reading and research material
- (*) A selection of other reading material is also available free at our online literature page.
- (†) Most of the above books can be found in Visitor Center bookstores in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Order online from The Cottage Book Shop in Glen Arbor, MI.
Other Contributions
- • Candace Clifford: Original 1836 Specifications for the South Manitou Island Light Station
- • Candace Clifford: 1857 Memo re Lepaute Lens for the South Manitou Island Light Station
- • Terry Pepper: Comment on the 1839 specifications for the SMI Light Station
- • Andrew White: Map showing hydrography south of South Manitou Island, Michigan - 1901
- • Andrew White: Hydrography Map, Northeast End of Lake Michigan, 1908
- • Andrew White: Historical Account of Lakes Survey: 1841-1881
- • Andrew White: Excerpts Describing Topographical Field Work AT Port Oneida1860
Other Online Resources
- • Annual Reports of the U.S. Life-Saving Service (USLSS)
- • Empire Area Museum Center
- • National Park Service - SLBE (search results for "North Manitou Island")
- • National Park Service - SLBE (search results for "South Manitou Island")
- • The Leelanau Historical Society and Museum
- [1] Adobe "PDF" format - Get Reader, if needed.