The Ghost Town of Sharon, Kalkaska County

Well, hello there, Sharon.

Which Sharon? Who Sharon? Where Sharon?

There happens to be – or have been - a number of places in Michigan with the name of ‘Sharon’, ‘Sharonville’ and ‘Sharon Plain’…but the one we’re interested in this time around is in Kalkaska County.

This particular ‘Sharon’ began in Garfield Township in the second half of the 1800s. It was a successful lumber town right where Cannon Creek meets the Manistee River; and thanks to the number of saloons compared to the amount of rowdy, brawling lumbermen, many fights ensued almost every night - and definitely every weekend.

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In the 1880s the area surrounding Sharon had twelve lumber camps; it was a challenge to keep alcohol in stock. In 1891, a farmer named George Johnson began duties as the village’s first postmaster. He also ran the general store and hotel.

By the early 1900s, Sharon had sawmills, a boarding house, and express office…oh, yeah, and a depot along the Pere Marquette Railroad which barreled smack thru town.

As with most lumber towns of the 1800s, this one soon became a memory. By 1910, Sharon’s population had shrunk to 40. By 1917, the residency was up to 50. But now in the 2000s, no trace of Sharon remains. No shops, stores, buildings…maybe an old house or foundation if you look hard, but otherwise, you’d never know there was once a busy little lumber town there.

Satellite photos show the patches of trees still in the area, which explains why Sharon was a successful lumber town in the first place…..even if it didn’t last very long.

The gallery below shows some old logging photos of Sharon and what the area looks like now…bare. It may prove to be an extremely interesting place to explore; park the car almost anywhere and walk through the area…I bet you’ll find a surprise or two.

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