Nature carved the Muskegon River, and men and horses carved Newaygo in the mid-1800's in response to a thriving lumbering industry. Some of this history is preserved in the Newaygo County Historical Society Musium on the banks of the river downtown.

Axes flew and trees fell. Men moved mountains. America's epoch-making industry -- lumbering -- had arrived in what would become Newaygo. Nestled in a deep valley on the Muskegon River, downtown Newaygo was once home to a thriving lumbering industrv In the mid-1800's, the county was covered with virgin timber, mostly white and red pine. The woods rang with the sounds of axes and falling trees. Some of this history is preserved in the Newaygo County Historical Society Museum on the banks of the Muskegon River downtown. The spirit of the lumbering era is also on display during the Annual Logging Festival, held downtown throughout Labor Day Weekend. Today, downtown serves as the commercial center for area residents and a large tourism industry. Businesses cater to all types of shoppers: clothing stores; sport shops; antiques; arts and crafts supplies; restaurants; a cozy and aromatic coffee house; flowers, music, book and video stores. With the merchants' emphasis on quality service, and plenty of parking available, downtown Newaygo has a reputation as a friendly place to shop.

Strolling the sidewalks of downtown Newaygo, you can almost see, hear and feel the history come to life. Many of the buildings are from the ]ate 19th century, rebuilt after the infamous fire of 1883 that destroyed nearly the entire downtown. Crowds from miles away came to downtown Newaygo and gathered at the old Brooks Hotel on the weekends, before it went up in flames.

Newaygo businessmen have always had a strong work ethic, and perhaps they knew more about customer service 100 vears before it became such a buzzword in American business. On June 11, 1883 -one day after the destructive fire -- a barber had erected a tent downtown and went back into business amid the charred ruins of his old barbershop.

Listen closely, and you'll hear the rush of the Muskegon river, the hum of saws, and the barking orders of lumbermen from years gone by. Downtown Newaygo was home to a water-powered sawmill, which, with 120 saws, was one of the largest in Michigan. Newaygo Mills was reputed to be one of the best mills in northern Michigan.

The old Newaygo Dam downtown was a model for the world before it
was torn down this century. Much electric transmission pioneering work was done in the Newaygo area. The utilities had to create efficient ways to transmit the power at high voltages from the hydroelectric generating plants to faraway loads, and many in the utility industry looked to Newaygo as the framework for the future.

Check out our downtown, and you'll hear a lot of truth in the words to Joyce Rodgers' Newaygo Valley Memories:

Newaygo Valley Memories, that ole' lumber town keeps calling me. I traveled the world, but nowhere did I see the beauty of Newaygo Valley memories... ...It won't be long and you, too, will be a part of Newaygo Valley's sweet memories.