Completely Gone: The Ghost Town of Stratford, Michigan

What was once the Michigan village of Stratford is now a true ghost town; absolutely NOTHING remains. No crumbling buildings, no residents whatsoever, and barely any photos showing how it used to look.

The ghost town of Stratford lies in Missaukee County in Norwich Township, below Grass Lake and 13 miles west of Higgins Lake. You would never know there was once a village there if not for a marker that reminds everyone.

It was founded in 1898 as a lumber camp railroad station, and village. For a town that is now completely nonexistent, it once had a boarding house, general store, post office, saloon, and sawmill. Now there is nothing left.

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For a dozen years, the trains came here to transport lumber throughout the state. When the pine trees were depleted in 1908-1910, that was it. The residents all left looking for work elsewhere and the railroad tracks were ripped out.

In 1937, the state purchased the land, and ignoring any historical significance the town may have had, they demolished all buildings. I guess you could say if anything remains, it would be the dusty trail where the rail tracks were. Possibly some foundations, if you wanted to brave the bushes, weeds, and trees to find them.

Might be a good roadtrip stop someday!