New boat tour offers history lesson.

Captain Lee Price at the helm of the Pentwater water taxi, which is now offering a daily history tour.

New boat tour offers history lesson.

PENTWATER – Beginning Tuesday Aug. 6, area residents and visitors can take a one-hour boat tour – departing at 4 p.m. daily – and learn about Pentwater’s rich history as they journey on Pentwater Lake, down the channel, and into Lake Michigan.

The new “Pentwater History Boat Tour” content was created by several Pentwater Historical Museum volunteers, drawing largely from information in past issues of the Pentwater Historical Society newsletter, as well as photos and artifacts on display in the Historical Museum. The history tour by boat – using Pentwater’s new water taxi – departs from the Village Marina dock across from the water tower on Hancock Street.

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The boat tour provides an overview of Pentwater’s history going back to the early 1600s. While cruising past actual sites, commentary is provided about early Pentwater landmarks such as the railroad depot, Eldred Shingle Mill, Hotel Valeria, “White Elephant,” Sears and Nichols Canning Company, Pentwater Furniture Company, Pentwater Bedstead Company, local newspaper, US Lifesaving and Coast Guard stations, ferry, swing bridge, Pentwater Brick, powder magazine site, “The Dock,” and the original community hall.

You will learn about the significance of nearby Dumaw Creek, which is actually listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The important roles of how the Pentwater Lake Association and Pentwater Lake Improvement Board team up to control nuisance plants and maintain water quality also are explained.

“This Pentwater History Boat Tour will whet one’s appetite to visit our Pentwater Historical Museum,” said Museum Director Nancy Zielinski, one of the boat tour docents. “We’ve numbered over 50 photographs and artifacts that are displayed on the museum floor. Then, we’ve recorded short narratives about each. Visitors are given a local phone number they can dial up one time on their cell phones, and then listen to topics of interest that they come across during their self-guided tour. It’s like having a docent whispering in your ear.” There is no admission charge to the museum.

History Boat Tour tickets are $10 per person of any age, which helps offset the cost of operating the boat. Tickets can be purchased on weekdays at the Village Office, 327 S. Hancock Street. After 5 p.m. on weekdays, and on weekends and Labor Day, any remaining tickets for that day can be purchased from the Captain at the dock. In the event of inclement weather, purchased tickets for the History Tour can be used at any later date on a first-come, first served basis if there are unsold tickets that day.

The latest information about the Pentwater History Boat Tour, Daily Sunset Tour, and Water Taxi are posted on the homepage of the www.pentwatervillage.org web site, or call ‪231-869-8301‬. For more information about the Pentwater Historical Museum’s visitor hours, and to see Historical Society newsletters from the past 12 years, visit pentwaterhistoricalsociety.org.