38. Fishtown
Early non-Indigenous fishermen used Mackinaw-style sailboats to reach Lake Michigan. They wanted to be as close to the lake as possible so they built a rustic community of shanties, docks, net drying reels and dwellings immediately east of the Kalamazoo Lighthouse. The community was called Fishtown.
After 1906, when a new channel diverted the flow of the Kalamazoo River, the fishermen relocated upriver to Saugatuck. By then, most were using motorized boats and their families preferred the convenience of living in town. Their children were significantly closer to school and access to fresh milk. The fishermen — it was mostly men with a few exceptions — used gilnets to catch lake trout, cisco, lake sturgeon and “Michigan’s money fish” the whitefish. Until about 1960, fresh Lake Michigan fish was available in the area. Today, there is no commercial fishing activity beyond charter fishing excursions.