This historic Inn once began as a company store for local logging companies such as the Lake Independence and Brunswick Balke, Callender Logging. The town originally was the complete O.E.M. property of the Logging companies which included almost all the streets in the village being named after the most notable company executives. Built in 1909, the 32 inch Jacobson stone foundation was hand cut from the local stone dock and has afforded the building the ability to withstand a century without little movement. (less than a quarter of an inch) So impressed with the structure of the building and the area, Henry Ford, in 1944 purchased and converted the facility into an Inn. Henry, at the age of 84, acquired the local sawmill and basically the entire town while providing jobs, electrical power, and infrastructure to the remote area of Big Bay adjacent to Lake Superior and the Huron Mountain range. It became Henry’s 5th sawmill in the U.P., combined with a combined holding of approx. 315,000 acres, a family retreat in Plaquemine and their log cabin inside the Huron Mountain Club.

After an actual local murder in 1950, a trial and a book written by John Volker, the defense attorney, Hollywood bought the rights to produce a movie called Anatomy of Murder, based on the book. The movie featured such stars as Jimmie Stewart, Lee Remick, George C Scott, and Cathy Lee Crosby and was nominated for seven academy awards in 1959. The current restaurant was created by Hollywood as a set in the movie to depict the local bar that the murder occurred in and continues to resonate with the story to this day.

Friends of Historic Thunder Bay

Friends of the Historic Thunder Bay Inn is a 501c3a dedicated to improving barrier-free access to the Inn while increasing employment opportunities for the community. We have a mission to preserve the local history, traditions, and heritage of Big Bay through restoration and diverse local community activities.

Call the Inn at (906) 345-9220 for more information.