Fenton, Michigan
My discovery of Fenton began when I ordered a sandwich at a small coffee shop in Goodrich, Michigan. I was blown away by how delicious the bread was. I asked if they made their own and they said "No, they ordered bread from a baking company known as Crust, in Fenton, Michigan". There are hidden gems all around downtown Fenton. It is a good idea to stop at the Chamber of Commerce office and get a copy of their Walking Tour map. As I made my way to “Crust” I became aware that I had arrived in a pretty special town. I was seeing all kinds of sculpture and other artwork scattered around. There was great architecture and really cool looking shopping districts.
Unique
architecture describes downtown Fenton, including the
Community Center building, which was nominated as one of the
most significant structures in Michigan. The design is the
work of Eliel Saarinen. He was a Finnish architect, known
for his art nouveau buildings, in the early years of the
20th century. The building was considered way ahead of its
time and architectural students still journey to Fenton just
to explore this building.
The poker table sculpture in front of the Community Center tells the story of how Fenton got its name. The story goes that citizens couldn't agree on a name for the city so the possible honorees decided to settle the matter like gentlemen. They had a game of poker on August 24, 1837. The sculpture depicts three men, William M. Fenton, Robert LeRoy, and Benjamin Rockwell. Some people say Mr. Dibble was in the game. In any event, Mr. Fenton won and the community adopted his name. As a consolation prize, Robert LeRoy had his name given to LeRoy Street. Mr. LeRoy later built the Fenton Hotel, it is said to be haunted. There is an empty seat at the poker table just for photo ops.
Trails are one of the reasons that Fenton is there to
enjoy today. Seems that in the early 1800s Clark Dibble was
making the trek from Shiawassee to Grumlaw. Not surprisingly
he became confused in the wilderness and ended up on the
White Lake Trail. In this area he turned north and found a
spot on the Shiawassee River where several Indian trails
intersected. The spot was so beautiful that he decided to
stay and Dibbleville, Fenton today, was established. Hidden
away, north of downtown, is a beautiful nature preserve that
offers easy trails through the dense forest. Inside the
Dauner Martin Nature Sanctuary there are no sand dunes,
rushing rivers, or sun-drenched beaches. There are more than
150 acres of woods and wetlands with 4.5 miles of walking
paths. There's a large pine grove and stands of hardwoods.
There are four main loops in the trail system. When winter
ends, the wildflowers bloom and in the autumn the fall
colors are second to none.
To discover more about Fenton, visit their full service book
store, Fenton's Open Book. The selection is going to
surprise shoppers, and this is the place to get real
information about the history of Fenton. They have books on
that poker game and the history of the settlement when it
was known as Dibbleville and all that was here were a few
houses and a couple of sawmills.
This getaway is sponsored by the Fenton Chamber of Commerce. Another great Michigan back roads day trip.
