This image is the cover for the book Company Towns of Michigan's Upper Peninsula

Company Towns of Michigan's Upper Peninsula

In the company towns of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, a worker's boss did extra duty as landlord, store owner and constable. The on-site mill manager in Simmons, a town named after the furniture maker, even ran a successful baseball team. Built around iron mines and lumber concerns and directed by prominent entrepreneurs like Henry Ford, these industrial hamlets once lined the shores of Lakes Michigan and Superior. Author Christian Holmes uncovers rich stories of struggle and celebration as he explores the vestiges of these vanished communities and their lasting legacy in the identity of the Upper Peninsula.

Christian Holmes

A former resident of Alpena and Detroit, Christian Holmes has lived in Escanaba, Michigan, since 1976. He graduated from Wayne State University, where he obtained degrees in English composition, philosophy and library science. A passion for research, writing and the history of Michigan led to his interest in company towns in the Upper Peninsula.

The History Press