The Emmet County Water Quest Geo-trail will take participants to both famous and obscure places in Emmet County to learn about locations and people that made the county famous.
This cache is part of the Emmet County Water Quest Geo-Trail. When discovering the “wet” historic places in Emmet County each cache will provide a specific answer to a question on the passport. Information and the passport can be downloaded from the Emmet County web site
http://www.emmetcounty.org/geocache/
Once 25 of the caches in this tour have been completed, the passport can be taken to Emmet County Building, Suite 178 or mailed to Beth Eckerle, Emmet County Building, Suite 178, 200 Division St., Petoskey, MI 49770 to receive a collectable souvenir coin for this series.
Cross Village is one of the oldest settlements in the state of Michigan, dating back to the 1600’s.
The major early industries were fishing and timber. Other industries and businesses developed in the area to support these primary industries and their workers. Such supporting industries included a mill to process the timber and a cooper to produce the barrels for the storage and transport of the fish.
It was the fire in 1918 that completely devastated the town, destroying five large stores, the hotel, the post office, the Presbyterian Church and about 25 houses. Over 300 people were left homeless. Although many merchants had originally planned to rebuild, very few did. The many vacant lots in the heart of Cross Village are still a reminder of the fire.