A Michigan town disappeared 150 years ago. A cruise can take you back

A new 90-minute cruise along the Kalamazoo River explores the history of Singapore, the vanished town known as ‘Michigan’s Pompeii.’
Founded in 1836, Singapore thrived as a lumber hub but declined by the mid-1870s as demand fell.
The Saugatuck-Douglas History Center created the tour to mark the 150th anniversary of the town’s demise.

To understand Michigan’s lumber history, it helps to see it the way pioneers once did, from the waterline.

A new 90-minute cruise along the Kalamazoo River invites passengers to explore the rise and fall of Singapore, the vanished lumber town that has come to be known as “Michigan’s Pompeii.”

Organizers describe it as part history lesson, part ghost story.

Founded in 1836 by New England migrants, Singapore grew quickly along the dunes of Lake Michigan near Saugatuck. At its peak in the late 1860s, the town boasted sawmills lining the river and a population around 100. After the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, Singapore’s mills supplied much of the timber used to rebuild the city.

Related:

An 1873 map of Singapore, Michigan. — Singapore, founded in 1836 near Saugatuck, grew to about 100 residents at its peak, fueled by sawmills along the Kalamazoo River. (Courtesy of the Saugatuck-Douglas History Center)

But by the mid-1870s, demand for lumber was waning. During that time, carpenters had to measure and fit wood on site. But new industrial methods standardized the milling process, undercutting local businesses.

On September 29, 1875, the lumber schooner OR Johnson departed for St. Ignace and the Straits of Mackinac, transporting equipment to reconstruct a mill in the Upper Peninsula.

The town lost its way of making a living. Its mills and sawmills shut down and business came to a halt. In the years that followed, many buildings were either taken apart or relocated to Saugatuck.

Because Singapore was built right into the dunes on Lake Michigan, over the course of the next two decades, the sand dunes began to cover what was left of the settlement, essentially burying the city.

Now, as the 150th anniversary of the town’s demise approaches, the Saugatuck-Douglas History Center is commemorating Singapore’s story with a new boat tour that highlights both “facts and fictions” about the ghost town.

“We’re commemorating the end of the mill era and of the village of Singapore but also the beginning of this kind of legend … of ‘Michigan’s Pompeii’ that has continued to fascinate people for over 100-plus years,” said Eric Gollannek, executive director of the Saugatuck-Douglas History Center.

Tickets cost $50 per person and can be purchased online. Each guest will also receive a drink ticket good for beer, wine, or a non-alcoholic option.

“It’s really the best way to experience the history of Singapore and the history of this time period of the lumber era,” he added. “The best way to experience history on location is by boat … the same way that travelers and migrants would have seen it back in the 19th century.”

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