Thompsonville Area Revitalization Project

08/04/2026

Read more about the exciting things happening along the Betsie Valley Trail! 🚴

Built on the former Ann Arbor Railroad bed, MDOT paving the Betsie Valley Trail builds on a 30-year rail-to-trail vision.

07/30/2026

Thanks to our friends at the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians for their support of the Thompsonville Area Revitalization Project!

And thanks to UpNorthLive for stopping by to chat about the project and shining your light on Thompsonville.

Everyone's contributions helps continue our path forward! 🚂

Read or Watch:

BENZIE COUNTY, Mich., (WPBN/WGTU) -- One of the organizations benefiting from the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians' funds is the Thompsonville

07/27/2026

Windows are installed! 🪟

07/24/2026

Uncovered by the crew at AJ's Excavating, a remarkably intact green glass insulator offers a tangible link to the early days of Thompsonville’s electrical grid. Manufactured by the Hemingray Glass Company—originally based in Cincinnati, Ohio, and operating from 1848 to 1967 as the world’s largest insulator producer—this piece features distinctive "drip points" around its base. Patented by Hemingray in 1893, these small ridges were an innovative design meant to shed rainwater and prevent electrical arcing. Electric power first arrived in the village in 1895 via the Thompsonville Light and Power Company, generated by a coal-fired plant behind the Milton Gallagher home at Beecher and Michigan Avenues. These vibrant green insulators topped the early utility poles visible in the region's earliest photographs, serving as essential components of the area's pioneer power infrastructure.

(Top photo of the Ann Arbor Depot circa 1900 courtesy of the Benzie Area Historical Society and Museum)

07/23/2026

AJ's has been on site grading around the Visitor's Pavilion to prepare for the pouring of cement sidewalks around the building and a bike rack area on the south side of the building.

07/21/2026

A big shoutout and thank you to Rob Conrad, DPW Superintendent, for power washing the lichen off the caboose and getting it looking fresh again! 🚂

07/21/2026

🎉 Thompsonville... WE DID IT! 🎉

Thanks to all of your incredible efforts and generosity, we officially reached our $50,000 goal for the Michigan Economic Development Corporation's (MEDC) Public Spaces Community Places Program! 🚂💨

Because we met our matching goal, that means $100,000 is now headed our way to continue our progress in revitalizing Thompsonville.

This accomplishment belongs to everyone who donated, shared, and supported the campaign along the way. Thank you for believing in our community's future and making this vision a reality! ❤️

07/17/2026

We are officially in the home stretch of our campaign. Thanks to the remarkable generosity of this community, we are now less than $1,000 away from reaching our fundraising goal.

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation's (MEDC) Public Spaces Community Places Program will match it dollar-for-dollar, instantly turning our community's efforts into a massive $100,000 investment.

If you have been waiting for the right moment to support this project, this is it. Your contribution today will be the one that carries us over the finish line and secures this incredible investment for our community.

Thank you all to everyone who has donated, and for liking and sharing our posts to get the word out. The fundraiser ends on July 19 and we appreciate your help making this project into a reality!

Transform the Village of Thompsonville by building a bicycle trailhead, a pavilion, and renovating ten campsites at the adjacent George Sharp park.

07/16/2026

The roof is now complete on the Pavilion Building and we have to say, it looks spectacular! ✨

07/14/2026

The shingles are going up! 🔨