Walsh

In 1884, the Delta Lumber Company started operations in the area where Walsh would be located. The town site was named after J.B. Walsh the manager of logging operations. The village consisted of sawmill operations, a store, houses, a boarding house, and a station on the DM&M Railroad. The Elklund brothers came to Walsh in 1926 to mill for hardwood ties and lumber for furniture. They built an office, bunkhouse, commissary, cook camp, and a sawmill on an extended rail spur. They named their operation the St. Paul Tie & Post Co.

A post office was establish in 1927 at Walsh under the name of Elklund, but was renamed Walsh in less than two months. In 1929, the logging and railroad businesses in the area collapsed with the economy. The Oasis, a general store and gas station built by the Elklunds, was the surviving business. Tourist cabins built at The Oasis became a success with hunters, fisherman, and travelers on M-28. A state aircraft landing field was built in Walsh in the 1930s, but was never really used. The Oasis remained open under different owners into the 1940s when the store and cabins were removed when M-28 was rebuilt and widened. What is left of The Oasis’ tourist cabins is all that remains of Walsh.

Creighton

The DM&M Railroad built a section house at Creighton in 1881, a station in 1887, and there was a water tank for the trains. The site was named for the Creighton brothers who had come to Schoolcraft County from Ontario, Canada. The brothers worked for the Chicago Lumber Company in Manistique. The population of Creighton was made up of mostly the section foreman and his crew who worked on logging along the railroad. In the 1910s the section foreman for the DSS&A Railroad moved to Creighton and built a general store there. The first school in Creighton was established in 1922. The railroad at Creighton saw four passenger trains a day and many freight trains, it was a popular route for hunters. Logging operations continued in to the 1970s. The last business in Creighton was The Pines, a bar and grill, gas station and general store with tourist cabins that was opened in the 1920s and operated until the 1970s.