This historic building with the belfry on its roof sits along Woodland Lake in the Manistee National Forest. The old building was was part of Woodland park and a Michigan historical marker next to it tells the story of this old resort community.

During the 1920s, investors Wilber Lemon, A.E. Wright, Marion and Ella Auther, and others purchased land at Brookings, a former logging community. Here they platted Woodland Park as a summer resort for African Americans. These investors were also involved in developing the nearby resort Idlewild. Woodland Park, known for its quiet, residential atmosphere, had a clubhouse for property owners and lodging establishments, including the Royal Breeze Hotel. The Authers built the hotel around the original Brookings Lumber Company mill. Federal Civil Rights legislation passed during the 1960s gave African Americans equal access to public accommodations. This access allowed people to vacation where they pleased and lessened the need for resorts like Woodland Park.

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I did a post about the forgotten town of Big Rock between Gaylord and Alpena. Some people commented that they thought I was posting about the Big Rock Point nuclear plant near Charlevoix. I did not think about it until one day I stopped at a scenic roadside park on US-31 that overlooks Lake Michigan. It was there that I saw a marker for the Big Rock Nuclear power plant.  It reads:

Consumers Power Company (later Consumers Energy) opened the Big Rock Point Nuclear Power Plant just west of here in 1962. It was the world’s first high-power density boiling water reactor, and the fifth commercial nuclear power plant in the U.S. The plant began as a research and development facility, with the first goal being to prove that nuclear power was economical. In addition to generating electricity, the reactor produced cobalt 60 that was used to treat an estimated 400,000 cancer patients. In 1991 the American Nuclear Society named the plant a Nuclear Historic Landmark. When it closed in 1997, Big Rock was the longest running nuclear plant in the U.S. Consumers Energy later restored the site to a natural area.

The interesting thing that I found out, that the marker does not describe, Is the issue found with the safety system when the plant was dismantled.  During the decommissioning process, it was discovered that a backup safety system at the plant had been inoperable for at least the previous 14 years. In the event of a control rod failure, the system would have drained a boron solution into the core halting the nuclear chain reaction. However, during decommissioning when technicians attempted to drain the tank they were unable to do so due to a corroded pipe. If something would have gone wrong at the plant the system used to contain it may have not worked.

The plant is gone now and the road leading to where it once stood is gated off. The Michigan historical marker is about all that remains of the plant but I wonder how many people read it.

P.S. If you are in the area it is a nice little roadside park and rest area and a good place to look for stones along the shorline.

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