Follow along with us each week when Caddy explores the Cadillac area with an A to Z look at all the fun things to see and do. This week…H is for exploring history in Cadillac!
After coming out of the quiet woods and spending some time downtown I noticed lots of landmarks and historical looking buildings. With the warmer temperatures this week it seemed like a good time to get out and dig into the history of this town I call home!

I was first pointed in the direction of the Shay Locomotive (my namesake!) located in our City Park within the Cadillac Commons – what a cool old steam engine!

I heard that the 2021 Cadillac Leadership Team is working to create a new covering structure, with lights and educational elements! Learn more about their fundraising project here: https://www.cadillac.org/shay-showcase/

My next stop wasn’t too far from the City park. Did you know Cadillac has it’s own museum?

The Wexford County Historical Museum & Carnegie Library is a neat looking old building that holds lots of history and artifacts from long ago! It is open only by appointment through the winter months but I am excited to make my way back there when the snow is gone to take a tour.

The Cadillac area has several self-guided walking tours. We have brochures here in our office as well as downloadable maps online.

The Old Indian Trail spans from Cadillac to Traverse City established sometime in the 1200’s. Today this tour of our region is made possible by Frank Ettawageshik & the Wexford County Historical Society – learn about it here!

Another option is our incredible collection of historic sites, sculptures and monuments. Click here for the map and more details.

If you are a Rock n’ Roll fan, this tour is for you! The Cadillac KISStory Tour highlights the iconic 1975 homecoming when the Rock Back KISS visited Cadillac. 

This self-guided walking (and virtual) tour brings you to the top locations the band visited while they were here as well as the world’s largest KISS monument, dedicated in 2015 for the 40th anniversary celebration. This thing is huge, you can’t miss it! Click here for all the details on our KISStory tour.

So much history in such a little town! I can’t wait to learn more this summer as I get to explore more places and find more interesting people on my adventures.

Caddy…OUT!