History of Sylvania Wilderness
The Ottawa Visitor Center is open Mon. - Fri. from 9am to 4pm CST
Location: E23979 US 2, Watersmeet, MI 49969 (corner of Hwy 45 & US 2)
Office phone: 906-358-4724
The Sylvania exhibit showcases the history of this special wilderness area, just across our Land O’ Lakes border. It tells how this tract of land, comprising over 18,000 acres of old-growth forest and pristine lakes, was largely spared from the intense logging of the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Key items on display are the photos and narratives which tell the story of the wealthy industrialists, the “Sylvania Club” men, who purchased the property for their personal recreational use, and essentially saved this land from exploitation and development. The display follows through the purchase by the US Forest Service and eventual designation as part of the National Wilderness Preservation System in 1987.
“Sylvania contains one of only two remnants of virgin northern hardwood forests remaining in the Great Lakes region large enough to support significant research on forest dynamics. The other virgin forest remnant is located in the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park.” —Friends of Sylvania (www.friendsofsylvania.org)
