Boekeloo Lodge

The Boekelodge has been a landmark in Benzie County for over 70 years. This property was first owned by John O. Plank, the same gentleman who built the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, Planks Tavern in St. Joseph and several other resorts. After acquiring the land from Mr. Plank, Joe Cooper built the historic log cabin as a homestead cabin in the late 1800s. Situated between a cranberry bog and Lake Michigan on the south side of the Lakeshore, Joe got the notion that the area would make a good cranberry farm. In the early 1900s they hand dug a canal from the pond in front of the cabin to the river. The family hunted, trapped, fished, and tended a garden to survive on the sandy Platte Plains from 1932-1935. The road to the cabin from the end of Boekeloo road goes over a dam that regulated the water in what was then a series of three or four cranberry bogs. Horses were kept in the basement.

Meanwhile, Miles Boekeloo, who owned several properties on multiple lakes in the area, wanted to build a summer home but lumber was not available. On Joe Cooper’s 160 acres of land, several stands of lumber existed. Around February of 1943, Boekeloo wandered to the end of the road and found the Cooper family destitute and in dire condition. He wanted to buy uncut tree rights but ended buying the whole parcel. The Coopers moved out when the snow melted that Spring. The Boekeloo’s refurbished the lodge, dug the existing pond and enhanced the acreage and shoreline frontage nearly fourfold over the next two decades.

Past Projects
2006 Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear and its volunteers tackled some minor clean-up and repair, reconstructed two short boardwalks; scraped, caulked and painted windows; removed old wood debris; performed general grounds cleanup.

Funders/Partners:
Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear; Stuart and David Boekeloo