SOUTH HAVEN AREA
Local Restaurants – Some of our favorites include Bundy’s Bakery (next door with great breakfast & Starbucks coffee plus they cater), Captain Lou’s (Dykeman at bridge-sandwiches), Phoenix Street Café (Phoenix Street-American/Great Breakfasts), Taste (small plates/tapas), Sophia’s (Dyckman just before bridge – Upscale Steak House), Maria’s (Center St – Italian), VGino's East Pizzeria (Dyckman just after the bridge), Tello’s (Phoenix Street – Upscale Italian), Clementine’s (Phoenix Street – American), Su Casa (Center Street – Mexican). We also love the dining room at the local golf course, Hawks Head.
Stores – Closest convenience store is North Side Memories (Dykeman & North Shore) – offers snacks, beverages, breakfast sandwiches, coffee, hand scooped ice cream, soaps. Meijer’s (offers fresh produce), Wal-Mart (offers fresh produce) and Menard’s are located at Phoenix Street and I96. Outpost Beach Shop (Park & Dykman) – offers kayak rental, swimwear.
Entertainment - Movie Theatre – Michigan Theatre on Center Street (269-637-1662 x3), Bowling Alley – Lakeside Entertainment Center (269-637-6500) We LOVE the Wednesday & Saturday Farmers Markets in downtown as well as Cranes Apple Orchard & Pie Pantry and Fennville Winery tours. Great golfing can be found at Hawks Head in South Haven or at Ravines (Arnold Palmer course 20 mins north in Saugatuck).
Michigan Maritime Museum is only a three minute walk from the home and offers several boat cruise options including an old ship, Friends of Goodwill, with a pirate chase activity.
Beginning with Memorial Day check out the Thursday night concert series on the river as well as yoga on the beach (nearly every day but google Roots Yoga for schedule)! There is also yoga at Stanley Johnson Park (2 minute walk from the homes).
For rainy days with kids we love the Fennville Children’s Museum (15 minutes north and there is a great restaurant nearby called Salt of the Earth) and there is even a pop up Curious Children's Museum on Phoenix Street in downtown during the summer.
For boat rentals or even a fun golf cart, jet skis, etc. we recommend www.blackriverboatrentals.com and use code Burnett17 for a discount or call the owner, Anthony at 586-601-5952 and reference Julia Burnett.
South Haven is a major regional tourist draw because of its recreational harbor and beaches. It is the western terminus of the Kal-Haven Trail, popular with bicyclists and snowmobilers. Nearby are Van Buren State Park and the Van Buren Trail State Park.
Prior to colonization by white settlers, the area was inhabited at different times by Potawatomi and Iroquois native people. In 1833, the U.S. government granted Jay R. Monroe a land patent for 65 acres of land along the shore of Lake Michigan. In the 1850s the first permanent settlers arrived, and early in the decade the first steam sawmills were built on the Black River. About this time, the settlement gained its first merchant, physician, lawyer, and minister, and the first schoolhouse was built. The first bank was organized in 1867. South Haven was incorporated as a village in 1869, and as a city in 1902.
In 1853, the first hotel in South Haven, known as the Forest House, was built at the corner of Phoenix and Center Streets. The building was subsequently moved a few doors south and still stands, though greatly modified, and no longer used as a hotel.
The timber harvested in South Haven was shipped to Chicago and Milwaukee via steamboats and schooners, and the cleared forests were then used by fruit farmers, who primarily grew peaches, blueberries and apples. The farming industry created many jobs in the area, and the city began to boom. Around the early 1900s, theaters, a casino, an opera house, an amusement park, and many resorts contributed to a rise in popularity of the city. Being a resort city resulted in a seasonal economy, however, and in an effort to stabilize the economy, the city's board of trade successfully recruited several different industries to the area.
In 1925, the first foreign shipments of goods arrived, beginning an era of foreign shipments that would last until the mid-1960s. The last passenger steamboat left South Haven for Chicago on Labor Day, 1941, though recreational boating increased steadily.
In 1969, "The Centennial Celebration and Blueberry Festival" took place, and the city's 64-slip marina was dedicated. To this day the Blueberry Festival continues to draw many visitors to the city. Other events, such as the Ice Breaker Festival, Harborfest, the art shows and 4 July fireworks display remain very popular. The beaches, boating and relaxing atmosphere will continue to ensure that the City of South Haven remains a popular warm-weather destination. The South Pier Lighthouse, built in 1903 to replace the light established in 1872, is still operational, and is accessible from a public beach.
South Haven offers an interesting array of cultural attractions. The Michigan Maritime Museum, host of the tall ship Friends Good Will, is perhaps its most famous. The Michigan Maritime Museum also hosts an electrically powered river launch called the Lindy Lou. River launch boats were used in the 1890s to the 1930s to ferry passengers up the Black River to various resorts and parks. Visitors are able to buy tickets to ride either ship - the Lindy Lou stays on the river, while the Friends Good Will goes down the river and onto Lake Michigan.
The Historical Association of South Haven, which now operates out of the old Hartman School, which it is refurbishing, is devoted to documenting and retelling the city's rich history.
The Michigan Flywheelers Museum allows visitors to experience the life of early local farmers. Attractions include exhibits of antique flywheel engines and tractors, an old town area with an old jail, farm machinery shop and an exhibit building called "The Farm History Building."
Source: Wikipedia
