Deer Park is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in Luce County in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. The community is located within McMillan Township. As an unincorporated community, Deer Park has no legally defined boundaries or population statistics of its own. Settled as early as 1876, the community is centered along the eastern terminus of H-58 and County Road 407 along the shores of

Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...

Muskallonge Lake State Park Muskallonge Lake State Park is a state park located in Luce County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located in Deer Park about west of Grand Marais along H-58. The park encompasses between the shores of Lake Superior and Muskallonge ...

is within the vicinity of Deer Park.

History

Western Reserve - Muskallonge State Park

Deer Park was originally settled as a Native American encampment.Muskallonge Lake State Park
Michigan Department of Natural Resources The community was later settled as a

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

-milling town. The Cook and Wilson Lumber Company purchased the first

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

in the community in 1876. Deer Park expanded after Bradley and Hurst bought the mill ten years later. At the town's peak, it had a population of 400 people, making it one of the largest

white pine ''Pinus'', the pines, is a genus of approximately 111 extant tree and shrub species. The genus is currently split into two subgenera: subgenus ''Pinus'' (hard pines), and subgenus ''Strobus'' (soft pines). Each of the subgenera have been further ...

logging communities. The mill produced 16,000

board feet The board foot or board-foot is a unit of measurement for the volume of lumber in the United States and Canada. It equals the volume of a length of a board, one foot wide and thick. Board foot can be abbreviated as FBM (for "foot, board measure" ...

every 24 hours. The

Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railroad The Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railway (DSS&A) was an American railroad serving the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the Lake Superior shoreline of Wisconsin. It provided service from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and St. Ignace, Michigan, west ...

built a branch from

Newberry Newberry is a surname, a variant of Newbury. Notable people with the surname include: * Booker Newberry III (born 1956), American singer and keyboardist * Brennan Newberry (born, 1990), American professional stock car racing driver * Brian Newb ...

to Deer Park to serve the mill, though the railroad was eventually removed. A post office opened July 12, 1888 with W.L.M. Powell was the first postmaster. The post office closed on January 15, 1900, due to the town's declining population. By the early 1900s, the lumber supply was gone from Deer Park, the sawmill closed, and Deer Park's population began to decline. The only remaining signs of the lumber industry are piles of sawdust and some pine logs in Muskallonge Lake, which was used to soften the logs before they were milled. The

shipping industry Maritime transport (or ocean transport) and hydraulic effluvial transport, or more generally waterborne transport, is the transport of people (passengers) or goods (cargo) via waterways. Freight transport by sea has been widely used throug ...

was also significant in Deer Park. The community was located on Lake Superior's Shipwreck Coast. The Deer Park (formerly Muskallonge Lake) Station was the site of one of six Lake Superior stations of the Lifesaving Service between

Munising, Michigan Munising ( ') is a city in Alger County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,355 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Alger County. The city is partially surrounded by Munising Township, but the two are administered auton ...

and

Vermilion Point Vermilion Point is a remote, undeveloped shore in Chippewa County, Michigan, United States. Located west of Whitefish Point, Michigan, this historic spot lies on a stretch of Lake Superior’s southeast coast known as the " Graveyard of the Grea ...

. In 1892, the propeller SS ''Western Reserve'' sank about 35 miles northwest of Deer Park with the loss of all but the

wheelsman A helmsman or helm (sometimes driver) is a person who steers a ship, sailboat, submarine, other type of maritime vessel, or spacecraft. The rank and seniority of the helmsman may vary: on small vessels such as fishing vessels and yachts, the fun ...

. In 1907, the SS ''Cyprus'' sank north of Deer Park; all but one of its crew members died.

Present-day community

Since the 21st century, it has remained an unincorporated community, also containing a lodge and a general store, which primarily cater to visitors to the state park. Deer Park is the terminus of County Highways H-37 ''(aka: CR 407)'' and H-58.

References

External links

Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy: Deer Park Life Saving Station
{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Luce County, Michigan Unincorporated communities in Michigan Michigan populated places on Lake Superior Populated places established in 1876 1876 establishments in Michigan