KALAMAZOO, MI — Decades ago, a majority Black resort community in West Michigan that was referred to as “Black Eden” was in its heyday. Now, it’s fallen into disrepair.
A $25,000 grant from Western Michigan University will reinvest in Idlewild, an unincorporated community 75 miles north of Grand Rapids.
The grant will allow WMU’s Lewis Walker Institute to open History House Coffee Shop, a mobile coffee bar staffed by young locals and WMU students. The institute will also develop a pontoon boat tour to teach visitors about the town’s history.
The goal is to attract more people to Idlewild, said Luchara Wallace, an interim associate dean at WMU and director of WMU’s Lewis Walker Institute.
Idlewild was first established in 1912, but started to gain recognition around in the 1920s. African Americans were moving north to escape violence in the South and seek better economic opportunities in the North. With Jim Crow-era segregation, African Americans couldn’t enjoy the same lakeside getaways white Americans frequented.
The crystal clear waters and forest vistas at Idlewild Lake offered an alternative.
Idlewild, known as Michigan’s ‘Black Eden’ was a historic resort town popular from the 1920s through the 1960s.Aya Miller
Over the next 40 years, Idlewild became a premier resort town for African Americans and was given the moniker of Michigan’s “Black Eden.”
It became a Black entertainment hub, with famous performers including The Four Tops, Jackie Wilson, B. B. King, Cab Calloway, Etta James, the Temptations and Aretha Franklin, according to WTTW.
“Idlewild was marketed specifically to African Americans looking for a place to be creative,” said USDA Forest Service supervisory archaeologist Amanda Campbell in a story on the Idlewild community on the USDA website. “People who were looking for a place where they could get out on a boat, lay on the beach, swim in the water and just hang out without moving through oppressive social restrictions.”
When the Civil Rights Act ended lawful segregation in 1964, African Americans sought out the same high quality accommodations their white counterparts had. And Idlewild couldn’t keep up.
“The Civil Rights Act integrated not only vacations, resorts and businesses,” Campbell said. “It also integrated public spaces like pools, libraries and even Forest Service recreation opportunities.”
Idlewild has roughly 700 permanent residents today, most of whom are less well-off economically, Wallace said.
“The economic base is not as great as it would be if it were in a different community,” Wallace said.
The now shuttered Flamingo Club in Idlewild. The club opened in 1915 and closed in 1968.Aya Miller
Driving through the town, there’s a sea of blighted and abandoned buildings intermixed with trailers and single-family homes still occupied by residents. Sprinkled in are historical markers outside of boarded up buildings, a reminder of what the town once was.
At the center of town is Idlewild Lake, with a strip of sandy beach. Aside from launching a watercraft, sunbathing or stopping at Peyton’s Bar and Grille, there’s not much else to do in Idlewild, Wallace said.
“You’re like ‘Oh, this is neat, but what else is there?’” Wallace said.
The boat tour and coffee shop would help fill that void.
“We’re just looking forward to opportunities to be able to connect and to share with people the magic of Idlewild, but also to be able to provide Idlewild with something that they don’t currently have,” Wallace said.
Idlewild, known as Michigan’s ‘Black Eden’ was a historic resort town popular from the 1920s through the 1960s.Aya Miller
Profits from the coffee house will go to WMU’s Lewis Walker Institute, business expenses and scholarships, Wallace said. An opening date hasn’t been set yet, Wallace said.
A priority in the development process was partnering with the community and hearing their wants and needs, Wallace said.
“One thing we don’t want to do is, come in as outsiders and … do something to (Idlewild). We always want to do something with (Idlewild),” Wallace said.
There’s already a museum in Idlewild, but it’s run by volunteers and staffed at limited hours. There’s been a community open house to share ideas and hiring opportunities, Wallace said.
Beyond these projects, Wallace said the university has a long-term vision for Idlewild.
Lewis Walker, the namesake of WMU’s Lewis Walker Institute, has property in the town. In roughly three to five years, Wallace said the institute hopes to build an estate for university functions in Idlewild, with a conference room and rooms for seven to eight people to stay.
Plans to invest in Idlewild were already in the works before the WMU grant became available. The project is one of 22 Experience-Driven Learning Venture Grant recipients. Each grant was given to a faculty-led project, designed to bolster experience-driven learning, according to the university website.
“This was a response to the vision we had,” Wallace said. “We just felt that it was serendipitous and meant to be.”
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