Fishtown is a unique historical attraction composed of weather-beaten fishing shanties and small shops lining the mouth of the Leland River. The site has endured and adapted over the last 150 years as an ever-evolving working waterfront that still operates as one of the only unmodernized commercial fishing villages in the state of Michigan.
Click to see the shanty photo gallery
One of the most important characteristics of Fishtown is its core of historic shanties. Though only a few are still used for commercial fishing operations, most of the structures in Fishtown had their origins as commercial fishing buildings. These buildings served many purposes, including net-mending sheds, ice houses, smoke houses, and storage. Though processes like ice-making are now mechanized in a commercial fishery, running a fishery still requires extensive space for equipment storage and net repairs.
Many buildings have come and gone from the Fishtown landscape with the changing fortunes of the industry, yet Fishtown survives as a rare working waterfront and an authentic and active commercial fishing village.
FPS is pleased to announce a new book about Fishtown. Author Laurie Kay Sommers guides readers through the sights, sounds and smells of Fishtown’s long and varied history. The richly illustrated book will be available wherever books are sold.
You know that you enjoy Fishtown – and so does a family of river otters. The otters play and swim throughout Fishtown, lured by the great tasting fish and swift current of the Leland River. When you and your family walk the Fishtown docks this summer, keep alert for the otters along the river bank […]
Tara Novak, Fishtown Preservation’s first intern, came to Fishtown for the first time almost twenty years ago. Her father brought her here, and it helped them form “a special connection.”
Historic Fishtown has been nominated for the Dwell Magazine Preservation award. Your vote will help to award $10,000 to Fishtown Preservation!
