The steamers Buffalo, Lawrence, Champlain, City of Traverse City,
Illinois,
Rising Sun,
Manitou, Puritan, Spirit, Michigan, Alleghany, Fountain City, and
Idaho;
schooners
Hiram Merrill, Cora A., Lucky; the sloop Defiance and many other
vessels
brought
passengers and their homesteading supplies. They came from Buffalo,
Cleveland, Chicago and
other ports to take their place among the Leelanau Peninsula citizens.
As comforts increased,
by way of lodges and mercantiles, resorters also arrived on the Lake
Michigan vessels. Some
returned, summer after summer, and others made Leland their permanent
home. By 1900 the
county population registered over 10,500, and Leland had become the
county seat.
Antoine Manseau's route between Leland and the Manitou Islands has
been
travelled
thousands of times, by residents of and visitors to North and South
Manitou. The Grosvenor
family, whose geneology traces to the islands, has operated mail and
passenger boats between
Leland and the Manitous for many years, departing from Leland's
historic
Fishtown. Other
island families carrying maritime traditions into the 20th Century
are the Telgards and the
Carlsons. Martin Telgard built boats in Northport before coming to
Leland to establish with his
wife, Leone (Carlson), the Blue Bird restaurant in 1927. Maritime
photos
are displayed on the
inside walls of the establishment, reminding us of the heritage of
the area. Carlson's Fisheries
supplies whitefish and other fish to local restaurants and to the
public.
Racks of fish are
removed from the smokers and offered for sale in Fishtown, where the
family bases its historic
fishing tradition.
From: Leelanau.com