Spend a day discovering a great heritage:
US 12 Heritage Trail Garage Sale
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Everyone loves a good garage sale, and residents of Southwest Michigan will have a golden opportunity on August 11-13 when all of US Highway 12 from New Buffalo to Detroit is one massive garage sale. Individuals, antique shops, flea markets, and even whole communities will join in the fun. The sales can be found along the highway at homes, farms, businesses, parking lots, and fields. Some areas will have large numbers of vendors while others may be scattered and in some instances a traveler will have to go several miles or more without seeing a yard sale because of the rural nature of the highway. In some towns printed maps will be available with the location of the sales mapped out.

Yet there is far more than garage sales to attract people to the US 12 corridor in Southwest Michigan. Much of our state’s earliest history is attached to that roadway and the communities along the road all have stories to tell and delightful places to visit.

"What we're trying to do is push forward the preservation of this highway, preserving roadside architecture, the old "mom and pop” motels and service stations, and all the things that relate to the 30s, 40s, and 50s - we're trying to jog people's memories. It really is a treasure that's been overlooked and gradually forgotten since the interstate was created.” says Debra Yee, Director of the Branch County Convention and Visitor Bureau

US 12 has some of the same magnetism that Route 66 has, although much of it is just being discovered.

A Brief History

Among the oldest road corridors east of the Mississippi River, the US 12 corridor has had many names: the Sauk Trail, the Chicago Road, and Michigan Avenue among others. The corridor originally consisted of a network of centuries-old trails created by Native Americans. During the 1820s, a military road was established that followed those trails, and the route became one of the most important migration routes for settlers into the Michigan territory. Paved in the early 1920s, the road was designated a US highway in 1926.

A Suggested Day Trip
Our suggested garage sale adventure begins at the Michigan’s southwest corner – New Buffalo. US Highway 12 can be accessed from I 94 at exit 1, but be sure to drive into the beach front community of New Buffalo before you head West.

New Buffalo is a classic resort town. There is a lovely beach, excellent restaurants, and plenty of good shopping. Merchants will be having street sales on the garage sale weekend. If ice cream in the morning sounds good to you, Oink's Dutch Treat, the famous ice cream parlor is right on the main street.

In Three Oaks, you will find the remains of a wealthy turn of the 20th century manufacturing center. Be sure to check out the Warren Featherbone Office Building on Elm Street and the Spokes Bicycle Museum on Oak. A favorite spot to stop is at the historic Drier's Meat Market. This old fashioned butcher shop opened prior to the outbreak of the Civil War and is recognized as a historic place. The Drier family still makes and smokes their own sausage, ham and bologna in the back room. Three Oaks is also the home of the Acorn Theater.

Passing through the small farming community of Galien, travelers arrive in Buchanan, which is the home of Clark Equipment Company. Be sure to stop to visit Pears Mill, a gristmill built in 1853, which will be open for tours on Saturday and Sunday of the garage sale weekend.

Niles is the only Michigan community to have been under the rule of four nations. To visit the community of Niles, you have to leave US 12 and enter town on the business route. Check out the Four Flags Hotel where Eleanor Roosevelt and Al Capone are supposed to have stayed. There is a newly opened outdoor “French” market in downtown Niles which will be open during the garage sale days. The archaeological dig of old Fort St. Joseph can be found at the corner of Fort and Bond Streets and will be open for touring.

Back on US 12, both before and beyond Edwardsburg, be sure to notice the rocks which were placed to mark the route of the Chicago Road by women’s civic groups in the early 1900s. Edwardsburg’s major attraction is Lunker’s, one of the largest fishing, hunting and outdoor stores in the country. If it is anywhere near lunchtime when you arrive in Edwardsburg, eat lunch at their restaurant, called Angler’s Inn. www.lunkers.com.

Before you reach Mottville, you will see the camel backed bridge over the St. Joseph River. It is the only extant example of this type of bridge. US 12 crosses highway 131 at White Pigeon. If you have had enough garage sales and history by then, you can turn north and return home. If you are up for more adventure, continue on to White Pigeon and beyond.

White Pigeon is one of the oldest incorporated village in Michigan, but its history extends much earlier than that. The community was named after an Indian Chief who lived there in the early 1800s. The Little River Railroad has one of its stations in White Pigeon.

Sturgis is a larger community with shopping and antiquing. This would be a good lunch stop as well. There are several restaurants along Chicago Road in downtown Sturgis. Be sure to notice the art deco styled street lighting. It gives the visitor a sense of stepping backward in time to the mid-twentieth century. If you visit the small community of Burr Oak, which is just north of Sturgis, you can see a charming New England style community that was without industry when the railroad bypassed it.

The community of Bronson is found next along the road that is called at this point “The Chicago Road.” Be sure to notice the classic Carnegie Public Library which was opened in 1912 and the Roosevelt Era Post Office, built as a public works project. If you have children with you, Bronson has a marvelous public playground where they can run and stretch their legs.

Passing through the small community of Batavia, you will arrive at the largest community of our entire journey, Coldwater. This is a classic small city, filled with lovely Victorian-era buildings and homes. The community has many antique shops, restaurants and galleries. Allen’s Root Beer Stand, circa 1950, is a perfect stop for refreshments. Coldwater will be having numerous sidewalk sales as a part of the US 12 garage sale.

Coldwater is the junction of US 12 and I 69, and our day-long journey ends here. Turn north and head for home, or spend the night in Coldwater, and venture on into Hillsdale County the next day. A delightful evening could be spent at the Tibbit’s Opera House in Coldwater attending the musical, You never Know, or it could be filled with nostalgia watching a movie at the Capri Drive-In.

However you decide to spend the day, you will have a marvelous adventure traipsing along US 12 and the Heritage Trail Garage Sale. Who knows what treasures you will find.

More information can be found at:
www.us12heritagetrail.org or at the websites of the tourist bureaus, all of whom helped with the research of this article. www.harborcountry.com, www.fourflagsarea.org www.rivercountry.com,www.sturgischamber.com, www.newbuffalo.com, and www.discover-michigan.com.