Sheldrake

The village of Sheldrake is a ghost town today and can no longer be found on any map. It is located about four miles north of Paradise, Michigan, which in itself is not easy to find. It is located north and about sixty miles west of Sault Sainte Marie on Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The French were the first settlers to this area, which had been previously inhabited by the Indians, and they gave the town it's name of Sheldrake after the diving duck which frequents the region. The first settlement was established in the 1800's as a lumbering community and existed for about forty years until the lumber gave out. Several disastrous fires wiped out the town, the last one in 1926, and most of the occupants moved south to start the village of Paradise. Only a few buildings remain in Sheldrake today... but many of the former residents still remain.