Here’s a true Michigan ghost town for ya…Shearer, in Arenac County’s Clayton Township. Actually, it’s smack on the border of Arenac & Ogemaw counties.

Shearer was a lumber village and railroad stop along the Detroit & Mackinac Railway. Shearer was also established as a postal station in 1889 with Edwin Alexander as postmaster. By 1895 the population had risen to an impressive 65.

Three years later, September 7, 1898, the Shearer post office shut down for good.

The timber soon ran out and with that, the railroad ceased operations and the entire village was abandoned around 1903.

If you get out and walk down where the tracks once were, you may find evidence of this once-upon-a-village. Look for lilac bushes – many of these were planted by homesteaders and they still grow, helping us find where these old dwellings used to be.

The area formerly known as Shearer sits at the junction of La Grant & N. Melita roads, just 3 ½ north of Melita, another 'ghost' town.

The photos below show where it is believed Shearer once stood.

MORE MICHIGAN GHOST TOWNS!

The Ghost Town of Highwood

The Ghost Town of Sharon, Kalkaska County

Ghost Town of Gasburg

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