Book Description

The Early History of Roscommon County - This book is a vehicle for time travel to the earliest days of Roscommon County, Michigan - a place of woods, water and wildlife in north central Michigan. The book describes the county and provides an account of its history from the beginning of time to the end of the 19th century, a mere 25 years after the remote area was first settled. The economic engine that ignited interest and settlement of the area was white pine; green gold for those who had the skills and ingenuity to harvest it. In a period so brief that the imagination is stretched, a booming logging business skimmed the dense forests of their treasure leaving behind undulating fields of tree stumps and brush. The lumberjacks who did the work and the businessmen who managed it are the subject of close scrutiny in the book since they were the heart and soul of the county in its earliest days and most of the county's current street and place names reflect their earlier presence. This book is for those who value the history of Michigan and its colorful past in the logging era.