|
Harrisville is an unincorporated city in Alcona County. Population: 529. City Hall: 200 Fifth St., Harrisville, MI 48740, Harrisville is the county seat for Alcona County. It is located on the shores of Lake Huron at the junction of M-73 and US-23. Harrisville’s main business today is tourism. Several bed & breakfast inns and motels are located along the Lake Huron shoreline and Harrisville State Park is located just south of town. Harrisville’s beautiful harbor offers boating and fishing. Several charterboat services operate from this harbor. The Harrisville Harbor and Sturgeon Point Lighthouse located north of town are popular sightseeing locations. Harrisville State Park located on the south edge of town is a very popular destination for campers. In 1854, two fishermen, Simeon Holden and Crosier Davison, in partnership, first purchased pine lands and water power privilege here, and the place became known as Davison's Mill. They sold out to Benjamin Harris and his sons, Levi and Henry Harris, of West Bloomfield, N.Y. When the township was organized in 1860, it was named Harris for them. It was given a post office named Harrisville on September 16, 1857, with Levi O. Harris as it s first postmaster. The Harris brothers sold out to West, Colwell & Company, and they founded the village in 1866. They had it platted by H. G. Rothwell in 1870. Incorporated as a village in 1887 and as a city in 1905.
Harrisville is on the edge of Huron National Forest, which offers outdoor recreational opportunities such as hunting, swimming, cross-country skiing and trout fishing. The forest contains 330 miles of hiking trails. The Huron and Manistee National Forests were separately designated, but were combined in 1945 for administrative purposes. The Lake Huron beaches in and around Harrisville (including two state parks) have been recognized as being among the "top ten in Michigan." "Old-fashioned lake vacations abound on this pretty stretch of Lake Huron." Harrisville is situated along the Lake State Railway, formerly the Detroit and Mackinac Railway (D&M). The D&M passenger depot is made of stone, which makes it one of two along the railway (the other being in Standish. It is privately maintained by local citizens as part of the municipality's historical legacy. The city is on the western shore of Lake Huron and has a harbor for recreational boaters. The harbor is a center for salmon and trout fishing. It is also a designated "Harbor of Refuge" on Lake Huron by the US Coast Guard. The town also boasts Harrisville State Park, which includes a wooded campground right along the beach. It is said that this beach is spectacular. Sturgeon Point Light Station, a lighthouse and museum is just a few miles to the north, and is open to the public.
|
