If Cheboygan City is Cheboygan’s pot of gold, Indian River is its pot of silver. It’s history is positively fascinating!

The area of Indian River belonged to the Indians for thousands of years. It was untouched natural beauty, a part of the Inland Water Route that they used through the centuries, for it had accesses to both Burt Lake and to Mullett Lake. And then white men arrived, both fur traders and explorers. In 1838, a treaty with the Indians set aside an area for Burt Lake Indians. Change was about to come.

On April 1, 1838, the existing two counties covering the area, namely Cheboygan and Wyandot Counties, merged and became Cheboygan County. This area was a spectacular land of strategic waterways, towering forests, and breathtaking beauty. The Indians had left their mark. Many arrowheads have been found on the banks of the rivers.

Indian River is located in Tuscarora Township. The first white settler arrived in 1873, after the Civil War. But before that, in the year 1860, the land was first surveyed by John Mullett. Soon the Homestead Law was passed, which allowed settlers to settle free on land and to keep it if they made improvements and stayed. They built log cabins, began lumbering, and built mills. The land was soon cleared. The waterway brought supplies and mail, and 32 steamboats carried the logs and forest products to Cheboygan.

The first settler was Matthew McHenry, from New York. Many more soon arrived, most from Ohio. These early settlers were tough and determined people who endured many hardships.

The Indian River plains had an early log school. At one point there were 30 students. In 1881, a school district was organized. In the 1950’s, the people voted a bond issue which paid for a school on a 13 acre site on highway 27, overlooking Burt Lake. 

The Methodist Church was built in 1883. The preachers were circuit preachers who sometimes came from Cheboygan or Onaway.

Until 1946, Indian River had no Catholic Church. People had to travel to Cheboygan or Afton or Onaway to attend Mass.

In 1946, Father Charles Brophy arrived to build a Catholic Church. Early services were held in the town hall, but the parishioners cleared a 13 acre site near the intersection of highways U.S. 27 and M. 68. Over $100,000 dollars were raised and the Indian River Catholic Shrine was born. It would include the largest crucifix in the world, and people came from all over the world to see it and to pray and to light candles for loved ones. Little Indian
River would survive!

Matthew McHenry and Floyde Martin saw the coming of the railroad. They realized that it would cross a site near the river. They filed a claim for 132 acres of land. They had it surveyed, and they plotted a village in 1979. Indian River now grew rapidly. The railroad arrived in 1881, and settlers came by rail and by boat.

Not many Indians lived in this area, but they showed up with blueberries and blackberries, packed in homemade baskets of elm bark. A baggage car, loaded with berries, was shipped out almost every night.

Thomas Dagwell was a very good boat builder. He built top quality boats and sold them for about $30.00. These boats were made from oak and two sets of oars were included.

Some Indian River residents tried to form a new county in the late 1800’s. They planned to take land from both Cheboygan and Presque Isle Counties. They figured that Indian River would become the new county seat. The Michigan Legislature turned them down. Indian River had many natural flowing wells. Water was used by the local people and also sold, for it had a very good taste.

On July 14, 1911, a great tragedy struck Indian River. A fire started behind the hotel and almost all of the settlement burned. They had only a bucket brigade and could not save it. It was many years before the street could be rebuilt. 

Now the village would depend on tourists and the shrine, and the countless people who built homes on the lakes and rivers. Burt Lake State Park brings thousands of campers. The village is thriving and Cheboygan County residents can be proud of its past, with a colorful history and its unique,  dedicated people.