Felch: Just Another U.P. Town That Couldn’t Grow, 1906
It’s a town name that evokes different images...but that’s a story in itself.
Felch was a railway depot on the Chicago & N. Branch Railway with an operating post office since 1906. The township of Felch is in Dickinson County in the U.P. and was named after Alpheus Felch. Felch was Michigan's fifth governor in 1846 and a United States senator. He died in 1896 at the age of 91 and is buried in Ann Arbor.
Just seconds (a half mile north) of Felch is the aptly named Felch Mountain. It's not really a mountain, but it is definitely a steep hill that was dubbed Felch. It's in conjunction with a community called Theodore, so you may get confused while driving thru Felch Mountain and all of a sudden you're surrounded by Theodorites.
Now this can be confusing.....
Felch Mountain was also known as Felch.
Felch was also known as Metropolitan.
In the 1930 atlas, Felch Mountain is labeled ‘Felch’ and Felch is called ‘Metropolitan’. Today on current maps, there is no mention of Metropolitan in those locations, just Felch and Felch Mountain.
To top it off, Metropolitan seems to have moved a bit to the west, according to Google Maps.
This is giving me a headache.
Not much is known about Felch, aside from its name and that it was a lumber town. It had, at one time, saloons, hotels, stores, shops and many businesses that all went belly-up when the lumber was depleted.
Felch is located on County Road 569.
Felch Mountain is just north of Felch off 569 on Norway Lake Rd and N. Felch Mountain Road in Felch Township.
Make sure you drive-thru sometime and say hello to all the Felch-people.