When we hear the words "ghost town," visions come to mind of an abandoned town from the days of the Old West, but every U.S. state and each of Canada's provinces and territories have sites where towns were once located. Leelanau County is no exception. Here are a few of Leelanau's ghost towns.

Although it was not an incorporated community, Hatches Crossing was located at what now Fouch Rd. (Co. Rd. 614) is and the Manistee & Northeastern Railroad crossing. It was the location of a small railroad station (begun in 1892) and post office, and in the early 1880's, the Hatches Crossing schoolhouse was built just west of the station at the corner of Fouch Rd. and Co. Rd. 641. In 1916, property was bought for a new school near the railroad crossing, and it was completed two years later. In 1903, the Traverse City, Leelanau, and Manistique Railroad contracted with the M & NE Railroad to use the tracks from Traverse City to Hatches Crossing, then branch off to Northport, where railroad ferries would take railroad cars and products to Manistique in the Upper Peninsula.

One of Hatches Crossing's most prominent residents was Daniel Whipple. Known to his friends as "Uncle Dan," he was known to walk to Traverse City and back to Hatches Crossing when he was past 100 years of age. Daniel Whipple died in 1908 at the age of 108. Things started to decline for Hatches Crossing, beginning with the post office closing in 1925. Passenger service was halted in 1934 with the M & NE, and 1948 with the former TCL & M (freight trains continued from Traverse City to Suttons Bay until 1979). In 1952, Hatches Crossing School was closed, and District No. 3 that it was located in was made part of the then Norris School District. In the late 1980's, the old railroad track saw a revival during the summer months, when the Leelanau Scenic Railroad was established from Greilickville to Suttons Bay as an excursion train for tourists and railroad buffs, but was in business only a few years. Today, only some houses mark where Hatches Crossing was. The railroad tracks and station are gone, along with the original schoolhouse. The second schoolhouse is now a private home still on Fouch Rd. The tower that held the school bell was still preserved, and a path where the tracks were is now paved for walking and bicycle riding as the Leelanau Trail.

Another notable community was located north of Omena near Grand Traverse Bay. Agosatown was named for Native Indian Chief Agosa. When Omena was established by Rev. Peter Dougherty as New Mission in 1852, Chief Agosa went with Dougherty from Old Mission Point to the new settlement, and he established his home a few miles north. His tribes people made their homes by his, thus creating the village named for him.

Only a memory, Oviatt was located on the Leelanau/Benzie County line on what is now County Rd. 669. Begun in 1878, it had two general stores and a sawmill, the latter operated by M.C. Oviatt. The town was named after him by H.C. Pettengill.

The next two places were never incorporated communities, but have interesting and/or identifiable landmarks and businesses. The first one is Cherry Bend, located in Elmwood Township on Cherry Bend Rd. (Co. Rd. 633). In the 1930's, Cherry Bend grocery store and Standard gasoline station was opened for business by the Plamondon family at the sharp bend in the road which was part of M-22 at the time. The area was surrounded by orchards, and catered to the people of the surrounding area. Today, the orchards have been replaced by businesses and a subdivision, and M-22 traffic bypasses (since 1937) the store, but it still does a thriving business, even after getting out of the gasoline business in 1980. A descendent of the founders, Don Plamondon and his family, now own the business, and he will even cut and weigh his meat and cheese products and make deli pizza for his customers.

The other place is Tobin Corners, located just south of the Glen Lake Narrows at the corner of M-22 and Co. Rds. 616 and 677. The surrounding area is primarily summer homes and cottages, with some year round residents. Tobin Cemetery is near the southwest corner of the intersection. The intersection has a fine mom & pop deli sandwich restaurant, and the M-22 bridge over the Glen Lake Narrows is named in honor of Carl Oleson (d. Christmas 1999), a U.S. Coast Guard veteran who ran the Sportsman Shop in Glen Arbor for over 35 years.

~ Thomas Baird