MICHIGAN GHOST TOWN, Geels, in Roscommon County

Geels is a true Michigan ghost town, located in Roscommon County, Richfield Township at the junction of Moore Road and Old M-76.

Geels was a railway stop along the Michigan Central Railroad in the late 1800's-early 1900's. It had two schoolhouses, a post office that opened in 1914, and general store.....and they're all gone, except for the intersection where the downtown once stood.

Geels is flanked by two other towns: Moore, just north of Geels, has nothing left either, except a few residents. Tierney, a little bit south, still has a decent-sized neighborhood, but you'd have to turn off Old M-76 and head west on Oak Street to see it.

From the little history I could find out about Geels, it doesn't appear to have been a major lumber town, even though some timber was exported; it was more of an easy access for the area's lumbermen, one of which the town was named after.

Geels' demise was due to the depleted timber and the post office shutting down, with all mail from then on delivered from Roscommon.

Today, explorers occasionally stumble across old house foundations within the woods...the rows of pine were planted to cover up the bare ground where the town used to stand.

It may be a cool little stop to make on a Michigan roadtrip this year!