The “Lost” Michigan Town of Three Churches, Bay County

Why is this area called “Three Churches”?

Because that’s exactly what it was – three churches, all together, across the streets from each other at the junction of Fraser & E. Beaver roads in Bay County. It wasn’t intended that way – it just happened.

At one time, this was a very religious community that sprang up along an old Indian trail, now called Fraser Rd.

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The three churches include:

St. Bartholomew Lutheran (1888)
St. Bartholomew was founded by German immigrants and the services were spoken in German until English was added in the 1920’s. This church currently stands in a structure built in 1949.

Sacred Heart Catholic (1891)
Sacred Heart was created by French and Irish settlers. After the original wood church burned down in 1899, another was final built in 1911…and another replaced that one in 1971.

First Baptist (1892)
First Baptist eventually was transferred to the St. Bartholomew Church after the original church members moved away from the parish. In its place is the St. Bartholomew Lutheran School.

Just across I-75 (and a short way south) are two more churches: the Fraser Church of God (the old St. Bartholomew Church) and Apostolic Christian.

The community never got off the ground as an actual, corporated town, but it’s still referred to as “Three Churches” or “Three Churches Corner” and rarely seen – if at all – on maps.

If you attempt to visit, it’s listed on Google as “Three Churches Corner” in Kawkawlin.