Glen Arbor Township is a

civil township A civil township is a widely used unit of local government in the United States that is subordinate to a County (United States), county, most often in the northern and midwestern parts of the country. The term town is used in New England town, Ne ...

of Leelanau 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 so ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. The population was 757 at the 2020 census. However, the population of the town expands rapidly during the summer months as a result of it being a

summer colony Summer or summertime is the hottest and brightest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, daylight hours are the longest and darkness hours are the shortest, with day ...

. The community of Glen Arbor, which is considered a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

for statistical purposes, is located in the township.

South Manitou Island South Manitou Island ( ) is located in Lake Michigan, approximately west of Leland, Michigan. It is part of Leelanau County and the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The uninhabited island is in land area and can be accessed by a fer ...

is politically part of the township.

History

John LaRue moved from

to the area of the Sleeping Bear Bay that would eventually become the town in 1848. After establishing a trading post, subsequent settlers began to move to the area with one, Mrs. John E. Fisher, giving the town the name "Glen Arbor" in 1854. Other prominent settlers were John Dorsey, who set up a cooper shop, and C.C. McCarty, who built the Sleeping Bear Inn, originally as a residence for lumbermen. Additionally, George Ray built a dock in 1856 and became the settlement's first postmaster and W. D. Burdick established a sawmill and grist mill nearby in 1864. In 1878, D. H. Day, a land developer and agent for the Northern Transportation Company, took interest in Glen Arbor. Day serves as the namesake for the historic barn that sits opposite of the Sleeping Bear Dunes. The town's economy was largely based around the lumber industry in the mid 19th century. Wood became the first commodity of Leelanau County as it was used for constructing houses and for fueling the steamers that traversed the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

. The increase of maritime traffic and the constant threat of shipwrecks along the Manitou Passage led the U.S. Life-Saving Service to establish a small boat station at Sleeping Bear Point in 1901. In 1931, the U.S. Coast Guard moved the facility eastward to its present location near Glen Haven, then closed it in 1944. The station is now a maritime museum that is run by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

. The size of the town has gradually risen over the years with many summer homes and resorts having been constructed. The primary industry of the town today, especially in the summer months, is

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the township has a total area of , of which is land and (67.34%) is water. Glen Arbor Township is located along the

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is a U.S. national lakeshore in the northwestern Lower Peninsula of Michigan. Located within Benzie and Leelanau counties, the park extends along a stretch of Lake Michigan's eastern coastline, as well ...

, which in 2011 was named the "Most Beautiful Place in America" by

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...

. The town is bordered by Glen Lake to its East and

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and depth () after Lake Superior and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the ...

to its West. Glen Lake is a popular destination for tourists due to its warm turquoise blue waters. The 6.3 mile long Crystal River (Michigan) passes through many points of the township during its duration which spans from Glen Lake to Lake Michigan. The river is popular among fly fisherman and kayakers who enjoy its clear water and pristine wildlife.

is administered by the

, but is politically part of Glen Arbor Township.

Major highways

* enters the township from the south before turning east in downtown Glen Arbor. * enters the township from the west, terminating at a junction with M-22 in Glen Arbor.

Communities

* Glen Arbor is a

and is the center of population for the township. * Glen Haven is a historical

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

west of Glen Arbor.

Education

Glen Arbor is home to the

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

Leelanau School.

References

Notes

Sources

External links

Leelanau County Chamber of CommerceGlen Arbor directoryGlen Arbor Township WebsiteThe Leelanau School Website2nd Glen Arbor Township Website

Glen Lake Chamber of CommerceGlen Lake Fire DepartmentGlen Arbor Art AssociationGlen Arbor Sun newspaper
{{authority control Townships in Leelanau County, Michigan Townships in Michigan States and territories established in 1848 1848 establishments in Michigan Traverse City metropolitan area