Traveling from Hell to Paradise

A couple of weeks ago, I was going to take the trek from Hell to Paradise but I got sidetracked by some boats.  On Saturday, I decided that I would make the trek and if I was able to catch any boats, it would be a bonus.

 Hell is an unincorporated town about 15 miles northwest of Ann Arbor.  That for the most part means that it is mostly a tourist trap.  It looks like there might be a couple of good restaurants there, so I might have to check them out.

 For some reason, it seems like this should be near a river.

 The directions to other heaven and hell type towns.

 The town I was interested in was north.

Paradise is in the upper peninsula and is about 338 miles away from Hell (depending on the route you take).  It is an actual town about 11 miles east of Tahquamenon Falls and 11 miles south of Whitefish point.  This bear is in front of a gas station that is open all year around.  It is actually a nice little area.

Paved With Good Intentions

I ended up going to Hell on Saturday.  Well, Hell, Michigan anyway.

I intended to drive from Hell to Paradise in one day.  I had every intention of doing that but then I saw the ship traffic that would be passing the Soo.  So rather than getting another picture of Paradise, I headed over to the Soo.

On the Highway to Hell

One of the things I would like to do more on this blog is feature some of the smaller towns in Michigan.  Since I didn't really feel spending a ton of time tonight, I decided to head over to Hell, Michigan.  It's fairly close and pretty small.

 The road to Hell.  I'm not sure if this is paved with good intentions or asphalt.  It looks like any other county highway in the state of Michigan though.

 Hell was established around a sawmill, grist mill, distillery and tavern.  All of these were operated by George Reeves who moved to this area from the Catskill Mountains in the 1830.  He purchased the sawmill in 1841.  The area had a bounty of wheat, so he built a distillery a little later.

 His businesses thrived and soon he built a ballroom over his tavern and a sulky track around his millpond.   He had a run in with tax collectors after the Civil War.  He and the townspeople hid his barrels of whiskey in the pond and lifted them out after the tax collectors left.  Eventually he closed down his businesses and watch the grist mill burn down.  He died in 1877.

 The Reeves family sold the land to a group of investors in 1924.  They increased the size of the mill pond and created what is now known as Hiland Lake.  The area became a summer resort.  Henry Ford considered it for a manufacturing plant but ruled that out.

 There are some theories as to why the town is named Hell.   The first is that a pair of German travelers stepped out of a stagecoach one sunny afternoon in the 1830s, and one said to the other, "So schön hell!" ( translated as, "So beautifully bright!") Their comments were overheard by some locals and the name stuck.   Soon after Michigan gained statehood, George Reeves was asked what he thought the town he helped settle should be called and replied, "I don't care, you can name it Hell for all I care." The name became official on October 13, 1841 although I don't believe it is officially incorporated..  The second theory is tied to the "hell-like" conditions encountered by early explorers including mosquitos, thick forest cover and extensive wetlands.

 I'm not sure what this River is called but it should be the Styx even though I didn't see a ferryman anywhere.

 I think it is flooded.

 There is not much to see though.  If I had done a little more research, I would have looked for the dam in question.

 The sign announcing that you are in Hell.

 Hmmm.

 This is a sign on the General Store.  At the back of the store is a Postal Sub-Station which is open from May 1 to September 30.  You can get an envelope postmarked from Hell if you want although the US Post Office doesn't recognize Hell as an official town.  It considers this as part of nearby Pinckney.

A sign pointing to other heaven or hell related names.  Theoretically you could go from Hell to Paradise in one day but Paradise is at the other end of the State.