Like other communities along the Manitou Passage and northern Michigan, the Village of Empire was founded by people who worked in the lumber industry. The peak of the lumber boom was from 1870 - 1910. Bustling towns grew around the sawmills, and then settled into quiet villages serving rural and resort populations. After the forest of hardwoods was cut, farmers finished clearing the land and cultivated crops of grains and potatoes. In the 20th century, many of the rolling hills along the Passage were replanted with fruit trees. The first forest product that was exported by boat was cordwood, 4 foot logs to feed the boilers of passing steamships. Sawmills were added that cut timbers into dimensional lumber, moldings and flooring. The finished lumber was loaded on schooners and steamships at the Empire docks and transported to urban areas (mostly Chicago after the fire of 1871) to be used for building structures for homes and businesses. In 1885, a small steam-powered sawmill was built on the shore. Two docks stretched into Platte Bay on which lumber and hemlock bark was loaded. A railroad brought lumber to the docks and mill from inland. By 1911, most of the forest was cut. When the Empire Lumber Company sawmill burned for a second time, in 1916, it was not rebuilt. The once bustling town of Empire, with hotels, a newspaper, seven stores and a bank became a quiet village in the 20th century. Today, on a hill above the Village a stands a white ball. It is a reminder of the United State Air Force surveillance radar system that operated for 30 years beginning in the 1950's. The Federal Aviation Authority still maintains it for air traffic control. Thousands of people come through Visitor's Center for the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Empire, then travel north to enjoy the scenic park lands which occupies much of the shoreline of the Manitou Passage.

CLICK FOR LARGER PHOTO The Empire Lumber Mill, c. 1900. The operation, largest in the region, included two docks, several mills to finish the lumber, a railroad, and holding pond. A schooner at the Empire dock, c. 1900. The piles of hemlock bark on the dock were shipped out to make a preservative for rope, leather and cotton canvas. ©1999 Thomas Kachadurian

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