Big Traverse Bay Historic District

The site on which the Big Traverse Bay Historic District now stands was originally a logging camp owned by the Hebard Lumber Company, dating from the last two decades of the 19th century.^[2] A substantial number of Finnish emigres moved into the area, working in the lumber, mining, or fishing industries. By 1920, Big Traverse Bay had developed into a primarily fishing community. in the 1950s, construction of a breakwater and changes to the harbor resulted in the demolition of a number of houses, as well as a footbridge across the river. The community remains an active, and relatively isolated, fishing community.^[2]

Big Traverse Bay is a small Finnish fishing community located on a peninsula and adjacent mainland at the mouth of the Traverse River on Lake Superior.^[2] The community includes approximately 40 small, single-story, gable-roofed houses with aluminum siding an undeveloped yards. Vintage gasoline pumps, net reels, cedar shake-covered fishing buildings, ice houses and saunas are still in use.^[2]