On Decmber 24, 1921, Carlotta Ewing took out an option to purchase 189 acres of dunes, woods, and shoreline in Grand Haven Township that we now know as the Wilderness. Over time, the area has grown into a community of homes and cottages, as well as access to the expansive beach and wooded areas.
Embedded Files
For a detailed history of the Wilderness over the last 100+ years, obtain the book The Wilderness Paradise Enow. Please contact Wally and Jane Ewing.
Entrance to the Wilderness about 1926. Ewing archives
Ewing archives
A 1912 plat map. When Carlotta and AE Ewing bought the property we know as the Wilderness, it was held by Henry Saul (Section 9) and Louis Bredehoft (Sections 9 and 16). The Old Wilderness, under the name E.A. Ewing, is a bit north in Section 9. Courtesy of Wally Ewing.
AE Ewing
This page is under construction-if anyone has digital historic photos they would like posted, please forward by clicking here
Ewing family at Lower Cottage, about 1934
Wilderness Preservation Corporation History 7-6-1985.pdf
Shortly after Michigan joined the American Tree Farm program in 1949, Carlotta Ewing
had the Wilderness certified as a state-sanctioned Tree Farm. She and her husband
A.E. Ewing in 1921 bought 199 acres of wooded duneland along the lakeshore and
named it the Wilderness. Carlotta earned the Tree Farm designation because of her
environmental concerns and conscientious forest management since the beginning of
the Wilderness. The sign, visible from Lakeshore Drive for years, was posted near the
entrance. Today it is stored in a Wilderness cottage. Thanks to Marilyn Green for the
photograph.
In 2024, Ottawa County had 22 Tree Farms with an aggregate of 1,339 acres.
HISTwildernesslittlewhitecottage.docxHISTwildernessweb.docxWally Ewing
The Wallin swing, 1960
Jack and Hester Belknap mid 1950s
Oltman cottage-Nancy Oltman
Dean cottage under construction 1982
The Toy Box
One of the many association summer lobster parties
Tuthill Jr. Cottage, 1994, Nancy Oltman
Aerial view, 1940s? Howard Tuthill archives
Road to North cottages, 1974, Howard Tuthill archives
Katie Kimball and Fran Shaw showing off their beach hats.
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