This particular, mostly-ghost town made history a few decades ago by having the largest snowfall in a single day in the state of Michigan.

The Baraga County village of Herman was founded in 1901 by a group of Finns led by Herman Keranen. He had been working in lumber camps and used his money to buy a few 40-acre plots. After building a log cabin, he used the land for farming and soon his farm was known as the most successful farm in the area. His success led to the town being named after him.

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Nestled along a branch of the  Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railway, Herman opened its post office on January 13, 1903. That same year saw the construction of a schoolhouse and in 1912 the Herman Athletic Association was organized.

Even with Mr. Keranen's success, the town of Herman failed to grow much; it did have a general store, community center, and a dry goods store, but not much else in the downtown area. In the outskirts, there was a grist mill, railroad hotel, graphite mine, and poor farm. One isn't listed, but I'll bet there was a church in the area somewhere.

The post office was discontinued on December 5, 1970 and 26 years later in December 1996, Herman set a state record (unknowingly, at the time) when it was deluged with the largest single-day snowfall in Michigan history: thirty inches worth.

The gallery below features some rare old photos of the semi-ghost town of Herman, along with a few current ones.

The Ghost Town of Herman, Baraga County

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