page_title: Northern Michigan
section_title: Industrial growth and diversification
hierarchical_section_title: Northern Michigan / History of Northern Michigan / 1860s to 1890s: Homestead Act settlements and industrial developments / Industrial growth and diversification
caption_attribution_description: English: Boyne_City_Railroad- Route map of the railroad 1915 historical state of michigan railroad map
context_page_description: Northern Michigan, also known as Northern Lower Michigan or Upper Michigan, is a region of the U.S. state of Michigan. A popular tourist destination, it is home to several small- to medium-sized cities, extensive state and national forests, lakes and rivers, and a large portion of Great Lakes shoreline. The region has a significant seasonal population much like other regions that depend on tourism as their main industry. Northern Lower Michigan is distinct from the more northerly Upper Peninsula and Isle Royale, which, obviously, are also located in "northern" Michigan. In the northern-most 21 counties in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, the total population of the region is 506,658 people.
context_section_description: The effect of rail connections was ultimately transformative; timber and other goods could be produced in the north and shipped to urban markets to the south. Diverse industries developed, such as iron works, tanneries, mills, cement plants, and agricultural enterprises. By 1885, the intense harvesting and export of pine trees led to visible decline in the lumber industry's ability to produce white pine. Logging in Michigan peaked in 1889. Where available, hardwoods and hemlock were harvested, temporarily extending the life of lumbering in the area, especially around East Jordan, the Traverse Bay, and near Crawford County. William Howard White's lumber railroad (Boyne City, Gaylord & Alpena Railroad Company), David Ward's Detroit and Charlevoix Railroad, and the East Jordan and Southern Railroad enabled access to remote timber areas.  As lumbering declined, rail lines began to promote Northern Michigan as a "fresh air" resort destination, and the logging companies promoted their cut-over, stump-filled tracts for their agricultural potential.
caption: As the lumber industry declined, rail lines such as the BCG & A Railroad (1915) helped to access remote inland tracts of timber.
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