Lumbering Days on Pere Marquette Lake

Artist Jacob Lunde had a gift for storytelling that went beyond words. When he ‘got a notion to make a little picture’ to use when sharing stories of the lumber era on Pere Marquette Lake, he created something that has far outlasted any spoken account.

The Lumbering Days on Pere Marquette Lake exhibit brings Lunde’s visual storytelling to the museum, exploring the timber industry’s deep roots in the waterways that define Ludington’s geography. Pere Marquette Lake was the staging ground for log drives, mill operations, and the commercial activity that made Ludington one of the most productive lumber ports in Michigan.

For visitors who have come to understand the lumber era through artifacts and texts, Lunde’s imagery offers a different, more visceral understanding.