Historical information provided in this area consists of personal oral histories, personal photograph collections, selected books in print, links on the Internet, etc. Documents provided in digital formats can be viewed using the free software indicated in the footnotes below.
Contributed Essays
• William G Boales ~ Letter from William G. Boales jr about his father's coming to South Manitou Island. [pdf]
• Bonnie Belmer: A Little Girl Named Mae
• Bonnie Belmer: Heartbreak on South Manitou ~ A Child of the Island Was Lost
• Bonnie Belmer: Lottie Hutzler Walk-Around ~ Island Residents c 1898 — 1900 and where they lived
• Sandra (Thompson) Black: Thomas And Theodore Thompson (Monograph)
• Sandra (Thompson) Black: Captain Floyd Sigval Thompson (Monograph)
• Myrtle Kelderhouse ~ Experiences of An Island School Teacher
Personal Collections of Photographs and Documents
• Phyllis Begens Collection ~ William Burton families.
• Boales/Riker Collection ~ William Boales/Edward & Esther Riker families.
• Merlene (Warner) Richardson Collection ~ Haas/Warner/VanderWagon families.
• Ronald Rosie Jr. Collection ~ Ronald & Johanna Rosie lightkeeper family.
• Rosie (Haas) Warner Collection ~ Hutzler/Haas/Warner families.
• Linda (Hanson) Wibalda Collection ~ Harrison Haas family.
MIA Biographical Essays
• The Andersons of South Manitou Island
• Chris Ankerson of South Manitou Island 
• Albert W. Bacon - Leelanau/Grand Traverse "Land Mogul"
• The Becks of South Manitou Island Coming Next
• Mr Boales - Squire of South Manitou Island
• The Bourniques of North Manitou Island
• Putnam Burdick of South Manitou Island 
• The Burtons of South Manitou Island 
• The Carlsons of North Manitou Island
• The Ericksons of South Manitou Island
• The Feilens of North Manitou Island
• The Haas' of South Manitou Island
• Rita Hadra-Rusco - Queen of North Manitou Island
• The Hutzlers of South Manitou Island
• The Johnson/Thompson Family of South Manitou Island

■ August 1972 Interview with George & Goldie Johnson 
• The Kitchens of South Manitou Island
• The Maleskes of North Manitou Island
• Edwin H. Munger - Erie Canal Captain — Marine Contractor — Land Speculator
• Peter Nenno - Original Owner of South Manitou's Sandy Point
• Bertha Peth - Queen of South Manitou Island
• The Pickards of North Manitou Island
• The Sheridans Pioneer Families of the Glen Arbor Area and South Manitou Island

• The Stormers of North Manitou Island
• The Tobins of South Manitou Island
Island Surveys & Land Patents
• Original Orange Risdon Island Surveys ~ Maps and Field Notes, courtesy of U.S. Bureau of Land Management
• North Manitou Island Land Patents, Documents and Landholdings (interactive map) New!
• South Manitou Island Land Patents, Documents and Landholdings (interactive map) New!
Books and Videos*†
• Tom VanZoeren's Oral History Series ~ Excerpts from Tom's growing list of publications,
and streaming audio clips.

North Manitou Island
• Furst, Glenn C, My Point of View
Personal Memoir of a North Manitou lightkeeper's stepson. Self-Published, 1992. [more]
• Rosterman, Christine J, Pesano, John and Rusco, Rita H Hiking North Manitou ~ Island,
Sights, Sounds and History (VHS video) Hesperia, MI 2000. [more]
• Ruchhoft, Robert H, Exploring North Manitou, South Manitou, High and Garden Islands
of the Lake Michigan Archipelago ISBN: 0-940029-02-2 [more]
• Rusco, Rita Hadra North Manitou Island ~ Between Sunrise to Sunset [more]

South Manitou Island
• Don Roy's South Manitou Island Bibliography - An extensive list of reading and research material
(*) A selection of other reading material is also available free at our online literature page.
(†) Most of the above books can be found in Visitor Center bookstores in the Sleeping Bear Dunes
National Lakeshore. Ordered online from The Cottage Book Shop in Glen Arbor, MI.
Other Contributions
• Candace Clifford — Original 1836 Specifications for the South Manitou Island Light Station

• Terry Pepper — Comment on the 1839 specifications for the SMI Light Station
• Candace Clifford — 1857 Memo re Lepaute Lens for the South Manitou Island Light Station

Other Online Resources
• Annual Reports of the U.S. Life-Saving Service (USLSS)
• Empire Area Museum Center
• National Park Service - SLBE search results for "North Manitou Island"
• National Park Service - SLBE search results for "South Manitou Island"
• The Leelanau Historical Society ... and museum
• schoolship.org Life Along the Manitou Passage