True Tales: The Forgotten History of Michigan's Upper Peninsula (Unabridged‪)‬

What were pioneer days really like in the U.P.?

The combination of mining, maritime, and lumbering history created a culture in the U.P. that is unique to the Midwest. Discover true stories of the rough and dangerous times of the Upper Peninsula frontier that are as enjoyable as they are educational. You'll find no conventional romantic or whitewashed history here. Instead, you will be astonished by the true hardships and facets of trying to settle a frontier sandwiched between the three Great Lakes.

These minutes are populated by Native Americans and European immigrants, looking for their personal promised land—whether to raise families, avoid the law, start a new life, or just get rich...no matter what it took. Mineral hunters, outlaws, men of honor creating civilization out of wilderness, and the women of strength that accompanied them, the Upper Peninsula called to all. Among the eye-opening stories, you'll find True Tales includes:


Dan Seavey, the infamous pirate based out of Escanaba
Angelique Mott, who was marooned with her husband on Isle Royale for nine months with just a handful of provisions and no weapons or tools
Vigilantes who broke up the notorious sex trafficking rings—protected by stockades, gunmen, and feral dogs—in Seney, Sac Bay, Ewen, Trout Creek, Ontonagon, and Bruce Crossing
Klaus L. Hamringa, the lightkeeper hero who received a commendation of valor for saving the crews of the Monarch and Kiowa shipwrecks
The strange story of stagecoach robber Reimund (Black Bart) Holzhey
The whimsical tale of how Christmas, Michigan got its moniker
The backstories of famous pioneers, such as Peter White, George Shiras III, Governor Chase Osborn, and many others