Johns Hotel, historic hotel in Michigan, United States
Johns Hotel is a late-19th-century hotel building located on Barnum Island at the eastern end of Isle Royale. The wooden structure shows simple, sturdy features with a large porch and is one of only a few buildings that survive from this early resort era.
The hotel was built in 1890 and was the first hotel building on Isle Royale as the region began to attract visitors. The structure was later restored by the National Park Service and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.
Johns Hotel takes its name from the family who developed the site and stands today as a mark of early recreational use on Isle Royale. The building bridges the history of fishing operations with the beginning of tourism, showing how visitors came to pair nature with leisure.
The building sits in a quiet setting and is best reached during fair weather conditions. The site typically requires ferry access to reach Isle Royale, and visitors should wear proper outdoor clothing as the area can be windy and access may be limited by weather.
The hotel was the first lodging built specifically for tourists on Isle Royale, born from a time when business owners recognized leisure demand. Captain Flynn, a local entrepreneur, transported visitors weekly from the mainland to the island on his vessel, establishing one of the earliest tourism routes on Lake Superior.
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