Grand Beach

History

Grand Beach was founded by the Grand Beach Company around 1903. It was conceived of partially as a short-stay resort. People would take the Michigan Central Railroad to Grand Beach station, rent small cottages for a day or two, eat in the dining hall (located at the corner of Lakeview and Whitewood), and enjoy bathing and golfing. The town was incorporated in 1934 to allow property owners to retain more control. Its lakeshore beach has always been important to Grand Beach. An entertainment pier was built out into Lake Michigan and offered dining and dancing in the 1920s. The pier has long since disappeared, though its supporting posts are sometimes visible when the lake levels are low. The Golfmore Hotel was built as a luxury hotel just across the creek in Michiana, Michigan. A footbridge over the creek linked the hotel to the pier area. The hotel was an important part of the social life of the beach in the 1920s, even in the winter when it hosted ski jumping events. The hotel burned down on November 19, 1939. The public golf course has been an integral part of village life at Grand Beach since its establishment. At one time there were 27 holes, but for many decades the course has been a 9-hole course that runs from the club house down to the village gate and back. In the 1950s the village hall moved from the old dining hall structure on the lake to the newly built golf club house / community center. Lake levels have affected the focus of village social activities. During periods when lake levels were high, beach frontage has sometimes been minimal. Erosion of beachfront properties was especially noticeable in the early 1950s, early 1970s, and late 2010s. Three Frank Lloyd Wright homes were built in Grand Beach. One of them, the Ernest Vosburgh Summer…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all land. Grand Beach is located roughly 73 miles east of Chicago, across Lake Michigan.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  12,889
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  12,152
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  12,004
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  11,243
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  10,645
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  9,847
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  9,500
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  9,419

Most recent

• M 2.9 — 2026-07-08
  21 km ENE of Kenilworth, Illinois
• M 3.2 — 2013-11-04
  1 km SSW of Lyons, Illinois