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| Pere Cheney Cemetery is located in Beaver Creek twp in Crawford County. The Pere Cheney cemetery, planned in 1878, is a five-acre plot that contains 115 identifiable graves marked with a variety of funeral artifacts. A narrow, dirt road through a mostly wooded area leads to the site, which seems to be a clearing surrounded by scrubby woods and is fronted by a woven wire fence with what used to be a gate. The Pere Cheney cemetery has historic significance of the one-time seat of Crawford County Government and as the last remnant of a vanished Michigan lumbering community. In,1879. Pere Cheney's seemed assured when State Legislature named the village the temporary County seat of Crawford County. However, Crawford County citizens voted to move the County seat to Grayling, and in 1881, the Michigan Central RR company, which had contributed to Pere Cheney's early success, moved its train station to Grayling. The town went into a long and steep decline; today, Pere Cheney is a GHOST TOWN. MI STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OBJECTS. |
| MICHIGAN'S INTERNET RAILROAD MUSEUM. Pere Cheney was the first settlement in Crawford County and was settled by lumberjacks and sawmill hands who followed the jackson,lansinf&saginaw railroad north towards mackinaw city. G.M.(papa) Cheney built the first sawmill in town and began lumbering operations there. In 1879, the County was organized and Pere Cheney was the first County seat. It was changed shortly thereafter to Grayling. The town, which was located about 7 miles southeast of Grayling, had a hotel, general store, three sawmills, a railroad depot, school and post office which operated till 1911. By 1918, the town was nearly abandoned. |
| Investigations are currently ongoing, being that we are located so close to the cemetery. Some evidence collected has been awesome. |
