Built on an Indian Battleground: Fenton’s Old Bay Port Resort

The former Bay Port Resort in Fenton looks like many other old lake resorts and pavilions found in Michigan over 100 years ago.

Located near 2245 Sonora Drive, the land was the scene of one of the area’s most famous battles that took place between Native Americans and white settlers.

The battle was recapped  by the TCTimes as: "The ravine back of Bayport.....the area now occupied by the Fenton Moose Club.....was the scene of a frontier battle in which a freebooting gang of about 80 white renegades was completely exterminated. The coup was made possible mainly through the heroic effort of a mute Indian boy named Segoguen."

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Years afterward in 1903, a gentleman who was known as Captain Foster built the Bay Port Hotel on the north end of the lake. It was made of wood two stories, upstairs decks, top-notch food, dancing, and a great lake view. It drew patrons for many years afterward.

After ownership changed a few hands, it changed hands again when Jennie McLaughlin came from Chicago to buy her way into proprietorship. She held dances twice a week which were the talk of the town...and beyond. They were so popular that by 1911 she was influential enough to have Roberta Barnay, the niece of conductor/composer John Phillips Sousa, as one of her violinists.

The old Bay Port Resort has been refurbished and during the 2020s was home to the Moose Family Center. Look below for some old photos!