Little Traverse History Museum
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Little Traverse History Museum
@petoskeymuseum.bsky.social
Local history museum in northern Michigan featuring Hemingway, summer resort life, and more! PetoskeyMuseum.org
The 1930 Winter Carnival in Petoskey featured a fox hunt.
February 12, 2026 at 6:00 PM
Stanley Kellogg with his prize-winning snow sculpture of Abraham Lincoln sitting in front of an illuminated fireplace. The sculpture was made for the 1929 Winter Carnival Parade, held on February 12, Lincoln's birthday.
February 12, 2026 at 3:00 PM
Petoskey's Winter Carnival was operated by the Winter Sports Club and the Chamber of Commerce as a way to increase winter tourism. The club sold pins to members. Seen here are the 1930 club pin and carnival program.
February 11, 2026 at 3:00 PM
The 1933 Winter Carnival Ball sold tickets for $1.00 per couple, or 25 cents to watch from the balcony.
February 10, 2026 at 7:05 PM
The ski jumping contest at Petoskey's Winter Sports Park was a popular event at the 1935 Michigan Winter Carnival.
February 9, 2026 at 7:10 PM
Michigan's 1935 Winter Carnival was held in Petoskey from February 8th to the 17th. It spanned two weekends and featured indoor and outdoor events, including luncheons, fashion shows, skating exhibitions, and snowshoeing tours.
February 8, 2026 at 7:05 PM
The Central School gym was the site of the Governor's Ball during the Michigan Winter Carnival in the 1930s. You could buy a ticket to attend the ball, or for a reduced price you could watch from the balcony.
February 5, 2026 at 3:00 PM
Mable Johansen, first president of the Petoskey Figure Skating Club, won first place for her costume at the Mardi Gras celebration during the 1932 Winter Carnival.
February 4, 2026 at 3:00 PM
Heisman Trophy winner Tom Harmon was the 1941 Michigan Winter Carnival King. He and Queen Marie Markert presided over the carnival, which included a Sno-Skooter Derby, hockey games, and figure skating exhibitions.
February 3, 2026 at 3:00 PM
Eunice Schaller was the Michigan Winter Queen in 1934. The Michigan Winter Carnival was in Petoskey from February 1 to 11 that year. After the coronation ceremony at Winter Sports Park, there was a figure skating exhibition by the Petoskey Skating Club and the Olympia Skating Club of Detroit.
February 1, 2026 at 3:00 PM
Did you know that Petoskey residents used to ride bobsleds down Mitchell Street? The city even had people stationed at the cross streets to stop traffic.
January 28, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Heisman Trophy Winner Tom Harmon was crowned King of the Michigan Winter Carnival in February, 1941. The Queen was Marie Markert. You can see the Queen's robe on display at Crooked Tree Arts Center in their On Ice exhibit through February 28.
January 26, 2026 at 7:20 PM
Jean Baptiste Trotochaud, a French-Canadian voyageur, was the first white settler of the Petoskey area, having purchased land in 1851. He is best remembered for donating the land and providing the carpentry skills to build the St. Francis Solanus Church.
#America250
#PetoskeyHistory
January 25, 2026 at 4:45 PM
The Queen's Coronation was a big part of the Michigan Winter Carnival, held in Petoskey in the 1930s. You can see the Queen's robe at Crooked Tree Arts Center as part of their new exhibit On Ice. The image is from the 1936 carnival, with the queen in the center wearing the robe.
January 21, 2026 at 3:00 PM
Stanley Kellogg made ice thrones at Winter Sports Park for the Michigan Winter Carnival, held in Petoskey in the 1930s. He was helped by workers from the Civilian Conservation Corps. You can see his model of this throne at Crooked Tree Arts Center as part of their On Ice exhibit through February 28.
January 19, 2026 at 3:00 PM
The name Petoskey comes from Ignatius Petoskey, an Odawa leader who lived during a period of enormous change in the Great Lakes region. Born in 1787, Ignatius Petoskey lived through the early years of the expansion of American settlement into Odawa homelands.
#America250 #PetoskeyHistory
January 18, 2026 at 4:20 PM
Bozo the Skating Mule is on display at Crooked Tree Arts Center in their new exhibit On Ice. This photo, from 1935, also features John Van Zon as the ringmaster and Mable Johansen as the figure skater.
January 17, 2026 at 2:00 PM
Did you know that Petoskey's Winter Sports Park used to have a toboggan run? It was built in 1927 for the first Winter Carnival and operated until about 1940 when an accident injured six children.
January 15, 2026 at 3:00 PM
Do you have a bump jumper? Petoskey began holding "jumper" contests at the Winter Carnival in 1933. No one really knows who invented them, but some boys from Massachusetts got a patent in 1904, and someone from Petoskey trademarked the name Bump Jumper in 1977.
January 10, 2026 at 8:27 PM
Santa’s here, we’re singing carols and enjoying cookies and mulled wine. Join us!
December 13, 2024 at 11:24 PM
We hope you can come to our Christmas open house on Friday, December 13, 6-8 pm. Santa will be giving out treats and we will be singing carols around the #Hemingway piano.
December 9, 2024 at 3:37 PM
Did you know that the Hillcrest Motel was once considered as a location for the museum? Instead, it was sold to fund renovations on the depot. #Petoskey #History
November 24, 2024 at 10:04 PM
Petoskeys iconic waterfront clock was originally on the county courthouse on Lake St and moved to the museum building in 1975 before moving to its current home in the 1990s.
November 23, 2024 at 11:14 AM