The Bear Lake Tavern sits right on the water in this vintage view from Bear Lake, Michigan — complete with a lakeside porch, a small dock and rowboats pulled up along the shoreline.
Bear Lake’s economy didn’t stop with lumber. By the early 1900s, the area also leaned into vacationers — fishing trips, summer cottages and lakeside meals that brought people back year after year. A Manistee County Historical Museum column even recalled a Bear Lake hotel famous for its chicken dinners in the resort era.
Do you remember the Bear Lake Tavern — or know where it stood on the lake?
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