Kalkaska

History

In 1872, Albert A. Abbott arrived here from Decatur, and the following year, platted his land and became the first postmaster. In 1874, Kalkaska became a station on a new Pennsylvania Railroad line from Walton to Petoskey. Today, this line is part of the Great Lakes Central Railroad. On July 5, 1908, a fire began in the middle of the business block and burned most of the stores. Local photographer E. L. Beebe took a number of photographs of the fire; the resulting postcards were widely sold and can still be found today. Two years later, another fire started in downtown Kalkaska. Again, in 1925, downtown Kalkaska was devastated by the largest fire since the fire of 1908. In 1916, noted author Ernest Hemingway visited and fished in Kalkaska, and later immortalized the town in his story "The Battler". A historical marker has been placed at the nearby Rugg Pond, on the Rapid River, where Hemingway reportedly fished one night from the power house. On July 10, 1951, the Kalkaska State Bank was robbed by an armed man, who fled and later attempted to escape on foot through a nearby swampy area. After three days of what was termed the largest manhunt in Northern Michigan history, involving the FBI and local and state authorities, the gunman, Raymond J. Turcotte, who had a long string of prior convictions, including manslaughter, was captured south of the town. Turcotte confessed to the bank robbery and served 18 years in the Michigan State Prison in Jackson, including a term for escape in 1961. Discovery of natural gas and oil in the area during the 1970s led to significant growth for the village, but the growth has since shifted toward tourism. In 1993, the Kalkaska schools made national headlines when a financial crisis resulted in a two-month-long closure. Subsequent…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , of which are covered by water. The North Branch of the Boardman River flows through the south of the village. The river continues west into neighboring Grand Traverse County, turns north, and empties into Grand Traverse Bay, a bay of Lake Michigan. Just to the north of the village, though, are the headwaters of the Little Rapid River. This stream also flows into the Grand Traverse Bay, although it is part of the Chain of Lakes watershed. Kalkaska experiences a notable amount of snowfall, as it is located in a snowbelt that receives heavy amounts of lake-effect snow from Lake Michigan. This climatic region has large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the Köppen climate classification, Kalkaska has a humid continental climate, Dfb on climate maps.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  2,461
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,105
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  1,660
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  1,580
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,425
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,357
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,211
• White-breasted Nuthatch

  Sitta carolinensis Latham, 1790 · Aves
  1,193