Muskallonge Lake State Park, MI in late July 2007

Muskallonge Lake State Park is a state park

State park

State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the federated state level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, or recreational...

 in Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

. It is located 28 miles (45.1 km) northwest of Newberry

Newberry, Michigan

Newberry is a village in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Luce County. Located within McMillan Township at its very southern end, it shares some administrative responsibilities with the surrounding township. The population was 2,686 at the 2000 census.The village was named in...

 in Luce County

Luce County, Michigan

-Government:The county government operates the jail, maintains rural roads, operates themajor local courts, keeps files of deeds and mortgages, maintains vital records, administers...

. The 217 acre (0.87816862 km²) park is situated between the shores of Lake Superior

Lake Superior

Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...

 and Muskallonge Lake; the area is well known for its forests, lakes and streams.

History

The park occupies the site of the former lumber mill town of Deer Park

Deer Park, Michigan

Deer Park is an unincorporated community in McMillan Township, Luce County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Deer Park is located on the coast of Lake Superior near Muskallonge Lake State Park.-History:...

, which prior to its lumber days was an Indian encampment. In the late 1800s, Muskallonge Lake served as a mill pond for millions of white pine logs brought to it by railroad lines. By 1900, the virgin stands of pines were depleted, the mill closed, and the lumbering operation moved away. All that remains as evidence of the lumbering community are piles of sawdust and a few partly submerged pine logs in the lake.

The state park is also the site where stood Station Muskallong Lake (later Deer Park), one of five U.S. Life-Saving Service Stations

United States Life-Saving Service

The United States Life-Saving Service was a United States government agency that grew out of private and local humanitarian efforts to save the lives of shipwrecked mariners and passengers...

 along the coast of Lake Superior between Munising

Munising, Michigan

Munising is a city on the southern shore of Lake Superior on the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 2,539. It is the county seat of Alger County...

 and Whitefish Point in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan

Upper Peninsula of Michigan

The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is the northern of the two major land masses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan. It is commonly referred to as the Upper Peninsula, the U.P., or Upper Michigan. It is also known as the land "above the Bridge" linking the two peninsulas. The peninsula is bounded...

. It was part of the U.S. Life-Saving Service District 10 (later part of District 11). The other four Life-saving Stations were Grand Marais

Grand Marais, Michigan

Grand Marais is an unincorporated community in Burt Township, Alger County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located on Lake Superior at and is the eastern gateway to the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore via H-58....

, Two Heart

Two Hearted River

The Two Hearted River is a short river, approximately 25 mi long in northern Michigan in the United States. It drains a forested wilderness area of the eastern Upper Peninsula into Lake Superior. It rises in several short branches in northeastern Luce County approximately 15 mi southeast of Grand...

, Crisp Point Light, and Vermilion Point

Vermilion Point

Vermilion Point is a remote, undeveloped shore with a rich history lying west of Whitefish Point, Michigan, on a stretch of Lake Superior’s southeast coast known as the "Graveyard of the Great Lakes" or, in the title of a book by noted Great Lakes maritime historian , ""...

. In 1915, these stations became part of the U.S. Coast Guard

United States Coast Guard

The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...

. In 1939 the U.S. Lighthouse Service

United States Lighthouse Service

The United States Lighthouse Service, also known as the Bureau of Lighthouses, was the agency of the US Federal Government that was responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of all lighthouses in the United States from the time of its creation in 1910 until 1939...

 also merged under the control of the U.S. Coast Guard.

Nearby Points of Interest

• Father Marquette National Memorial
  Father Marquette National Memorial
  Father Marquette National Memorial pays tribute to the life and work of Jacques Marquette, French priest and explorer. The memorial is located in Straits State Park near St. Ignace in the modern-day U.S. state of Michigan, where he founded a Jesuit mission in 1671 and was buried in 1678...
  
  
• Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
  Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
  Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is a U.S. National Lakeshore on the shore of Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, United States. It extends for 42 miles along the shore and covers...
  
  
• Seney National Wildlife Refuge
  Seney National Wildlife Refuge
  The Seney National Wildlife Refuge is a managed wetland in Schoolcraft County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It has an area of 95,212 acres . It is bordered by M-28 and M-77. The nearest town of any size is Seney, Michigan...
  
  
• Tahquamenon Falls
  Tahquamenon Falls
  The Tahquamenon Falls are two different waterfalls on the Tahquamenon River. Both sets are located near Lake Superior in the eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The water is notably brown in color from the tannins leached from the cedar swamps which the river drains...
  
  

External links

• Muskallonge Lake State Park Michigan Department of Natural Resources
  Michigan Department of Natural Resources
  The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is the agency of the state of Michigan charged with maintaining natural resources such as state parks, state forests, and recreation areas. It is governed by a director appointed by the Governor and accepted by the Natural Resources Commission...
  
  
• Muskallonge Lake State Park Protected Planet (World Database on Protected Areas)
• USCG Station Deer Park
• U.S. Coast Guard Search & Rescue Index