via Leelanau.com…

Flowing all night long by Mark Smith

While this dam isn’t an actual waterfall, I’m going to overlook it due to seasonal appropriateness. In their excellent overview of the history of Fishtown in Leland, the Glen Arbor Sun shares:

Fishtown is located where there once was a natural fish ladder on these traditional Native American fishing grounds. It is one of only few commercial fishing villages still operating today in Michigan. The Native Americans called this spot Mishi-me-go-bing, or alternatively Che-ma-go-bing or Chi-mak-a-ping, meaning “the place where canoes run up into the river to land, because they have no harbor.”

French Canadian millwright, Antoine Manseau, along with his family, are thought to be among some of the first whites to settle here. They came from North Manitou Island in 1853. The following year Manseau and his family, along with John Miller, built the dam at Fishtown. It raised the water level in the river and in Lake Leelanau by as much as an astonishing 12 feet. Since the dam prevented boat traffic from going back and forth in their daily business, launches were, and still are provided on both sides of the dam.

Lots more in the Sun. You can learn more about the history of the dam from Fishtown Preservation.

Mark took this photo a week ago. See more in his Leland gallery & view and purchase his work at Leelanau Landscapes.