The Shadow Town of Gould City, Michigan

Gould City is located in Newton Township, Mackinac County and is considered to be a partial-ghost town.

Gould City was a prosperous lumber town and boasted a population of over 300 - a good amount for a small Michigan lumber town. It was named in 1886 by its founder, lumberman Sam Stites after a lumberman friend of his. Stites opened up the first grocery store in town followed by the Central Hotel, train depot, sawmill, general store, saloon, church, schoolhouse and others.....and its own baseball team.

The town received its own post office in 1888, with Adolph Highstone named as the first postmaster. Gould City also became a station on the Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railroad.

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The town's downslide happened the same way as other lumbertowns: once the timber was depleted, residents left seeking employment elsewhere. The handful of businesses that are still there operate mainly in the warm months and shut down for the winter.

If you drive thru town you'll notice some abandoned stores and homes; north of town on US-2 are more businesses that are current, with a few older ones that have been around since at least the 1940s.