page_title: Northern Michigan
section_title: Increased settlement and establishment of port cities
hierarchical_section_title: Northern Michigan / History of Northern Michigan / 1860s to 1890s: Homestead Act settlements and industrial developments / Increased settlement and establishment of port cities
caption_attribution_description: Map of the Manistee River watershed.
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: Now that the land was surveyed and outstanding native land claims eliminated, Northern Michigan settlement increased even further. The Homestead Act of 1862 brought many Civil War veterans and speculators to Northern Michigan, by making 160 acre tracts of land available for $1.25 an acre.  The cutting of wood for passing ships morphed into a full-fledged lumber industry, contributing to the rise of port cities like Manistee, Traverse City, Charlevoix, and Ludington.
caption: From 1836–1848, much of the Manistee River Valley, including Manistee itself, was an Ottawa Reservation.[137] During the lumbering era of the late 1800s, Manistee became a significant site for lumber mills. Huge numbers of white pine logs were floated down the river to the port at Manistee and eventually on to the lumber markets of Grand Rapids, Milwaukee and Chicago.
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