A history of Charlevoix,
then and now
Postcards, papers and photographs of Charlevoix from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Charlevoix is named after Fr. Pierre François Xavier de Charlevoix, a French explorer who traveled the Great Lakes and was said to have stayed the night on Fisherman's Island during a harsh storm. During this time, Native Americans were thought to have lived in the Pine River valley. The Odawa and Ojibwe lived throughout northern Michigan prior to European colonization.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowFinish Charlevoix’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewLight house, 1890: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Charlevoix
See all 7 →
Charlevoix, decade by decade
1990s
2 historic places in Charlevoix
Charlevoix has 2 listings on the National Register, and they protect 44 historic buildings, because Charlevoix Central Historic District alone counts 43.
Where they are
When they were listed
Listed 1995Chicago and West Michigan Railroad Charlevoix StationListed 2025Charlevoix Central Historic DistrictThen & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Light house (1890) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom the Library of Congress (6). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.