Little Michigan: Tiny Places, Big Stories

In her book, Little Michigan, writer and historian Kathryn Houghton shares the stories of 100 tiny Michigan towns, all with a population of fewer than 600 people. Scattered across the state from Copper Country in the far northern Upper Peninsula to tiny towns on the Lower Peninsula that are home to orchards and farms, Kathryn recounts the history of each place, including the unique, the funny, and the downright strange aspects of each town’s past and its continued success today.

And there’s plenty of history to tell: from Civil War stories—Michigan contributed more than 90,000 men to the war effort—to one town that directly inspired a major Hollywood film (Anatomy of a Murder), these tiny towns are replete with stories that’ll delight and surprise.

Each town’s account includes color photos of the town today, interesting stories, and features about its past and present, as well as a synopsis of its history, past and present.

As an example, consider tiny Beulah, population 349, in Benzie County on the Lower Peninsula.

About the author: Born and raised in mid-Michigan, Kathryn Houghton has spent most of her life in the Mitten State. She can’t imagine living anywhere else—and not just because no one in Michigan looks at her funny when she calls it pop instead of soda. It’s the people that make Michigan feel like home. She teaches writing and editing at Michigan State University. She lives in Holt with her sister and four dogs.

Little Michigan is part of the Tiny Towns series of coffee-table books, a state-by-state celebration of our smallest towns. Each book spotlights the fun facts, histories, and uniqueness of 100 rural communities within a given state. Every featured town gets a full spread that’s jam-packed with fascinating information, as well as full-color photographs that represent the town’s charm and appeal.

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