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The Idlewild Resort: Once the Largest, Most Successful Resort in the Midwest for Black People

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During the decades when Black people were being suppressed and subjugated by racist laws, many fought to carve out their own place in a segregated society. The results were black-owned businesses, churches and clubs. Some led the way to establish their own neighborhoods, organizations and newspapers. They built their own banks, schools and parks. And these became legacies of their fight and their success. But many of these legacies have been neglected and forgotten. For Black History Month, TheVillageCelebration will look at some of these abandoned legacies.

For thousands of Black people it became a refuge, a place to relax and have fun. But for others it was the first time they could have their own property. For them, the Idlewild Resort in Michigan wasn’t just a getaway, it was home.

Known as the Black Eden, the Idlewild Resort was the largest and most successful resort in the Midwest, according to the New York Post. For decades, it was the premier getaway spot in the country. It was “a place they could call home for a week or two – or all summer long.” Or all year round.

“It was the place to go back in the day,” said Susan Matous who operates one of the remaining two motels at Idlewild with her partner, Blair Evans. And for some people, it still is, Matous said.

Idlewild was first developed to target the middle class, according to Bruce Micinski, president of the Lake County Historical Society and Museum in Michigan. In 1912, a couple of white developers established Idlewild, which sits inside Yates Township in Lake County. After deciding an all-black resort would attract middle-class vacationers, they bought nearly 3,000 acres around the Lower Peninsula’s northwestern woods and promoted hunting, fishing and swimming to tourists, according to nypost.com.

“There wasn’t anything for Black people at that time, so they realized they could promote it in big cities and target Black people,” Micinski said. They promoted it in cities such as Cleveland, Indianapolis, Chicago and Atlanta.

It worked. People like Daniel Hale Williams, the first surgeon to perform open-heart surgery in America began staying at the resort, Micinski said. Louis Armstrong bought a cottage there and often went out on the lake and the boxer Joe Louis would often go there to relax, he said.

But then W.E. B. Dubois began promoting the area to everyone and would write articles about Idlewild in his magazine, The Crisis, Micinski said.

DuBois realized Black people needed to find a place where they could relax and enjoy nature. They could go boat riding and horseback riding. And they could buy land.

“For the first time they owned something,” Micinski said. “They didn’t rent, they actually owned land. For the first time in their life, they owned a piece of property.”

They built cabins and settled into making Idlewild their home, their “refuge,” Micinski said.

Soon the news spread and Black people from all over the United States started coming to Idlewild. And their professions varied: there were journalists, cab drivers, doctors, lawyers, educators, bankers and politicians. People from all walks of life flooded the resort.

Then in the 1930s and 1940s, the resort started getting into the music scene and famous stars such as the Four Tops, Ella Fitgerald and Aretha Franklin would perform at the resort.

The Jim Crow laws ensured the suppression and segregation of Black people. So, although Black entertainers were allowed to perform at white establishments, they weren’t allowed to stay there, Micinski said.

Still, “There were some plusses about Jim Crow that were beneficial for Black people,” said Dr. Ronald J. Stephens, a professor at Purdue University. “There were Black entrepreneurs that had established legitimate businesses and relationships with the community.”

There were hundreds of Black-owned businesses. There were gas stations, more than 50 motels, three hotels and 75 cottages for rent, said Stephens who has written two books about Idlewild. There were beauty salons, clubs, a skating rink, restaurants and three grocery stores, he said.

“If you didn’t have enough money to get grocery, you could have a credit,” Stephens said. “It was that kind of place. It was that kind of atmosphere. It was that kind of community.”

The residents had their own fire department and post office. They had their own baseball and softball teams. Their own sororities and fraternities.

Soon Idlewild became known as the Summer Apollo of Michigan, Stephens said. As many as 25,000 to nearly 30,000 people descended on the resort during the summer. They watched performances by entertainers such as as Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington and Jackie Wilson. There were beauty pageants, literary circles, hunting clubs and nightclubs like the Flamingo and the Paradise Club. Idlewild allowed Black people to experience something extraordinary and special, according to nypost.com. It allowed their dreams to come true. But it was brief.

When the Civil Rights Act passed in 1964, legal segregation ended and the exodus began.

People started to go on family vacations where they weren’t allowed to before and black entertainers found they could charge more to play in clubs and resorts that now accepted all colors, said the late John Meeks, who headed the town’s African American Chamber of Commerce in 2017, according to nypost.com.

Still, Idlewild may have lost many businesses and patrons, but it was not completely abandoned, said Matous who started going to Idlewild fourteen years ago with Evans.

“I fell in love with the natural environment as well as the historical and cultural relevance of it,” Matous said. For Evans, Idlewild had long been a getaway, Matous said. His family, going back to his grandparents often visited the resort. And now so does his nieces and nephews, Matous said.

“It was never abandoned or forgotten. It just decreased in popularity,” Matous said. “You still see boats parked at the dock, you still see jet skis.

“You have several families who have at least two or three homes. The Red Rooster, it used to be Rosanna’s Tavern, folks still go there to eat.”

About four or five years ago, Matous and Evans decided to help protect and preserve the town. They took over Morton’s Motel and established the website Experience Idlewild to promote different events in the community.

Idlewild was named a historic community in 1972 and around 2010 seven historic markers were erected in the town, which was the first time that many markers were unveiled in one day, Stephens said.

Ever since Stephens found out about Idlewild from a student in 1992, he hasn’t been able to forget it. He later discovered his family used to go there when he was a baby. He used to visit the town five or six times a year to work with different organizations on various projects. Two years ago, he bought half an acre of land there to build a home.

For him, Idlewild will always be a safe haven. And he doesn’t mind driving the miles it takes to get there.

“As soon as you see the blinking lights at US 10 and Broadway, you know you have arrived at Idlewild,” Stephens said. “You feel like a big load has been released. And the atmosphere of Idlewild amplifies that feeling. It’s a home away from home.”  

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Black History

Trump Signs Executive Orders That Will Impact HBCUs and Black Schoolchildren

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President Donald Trump signed an executive order that will provide support for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and establish a White House Initiative on HBCUs to “deliver high-quality education to a growing number of students.”

According to the White House, the Initiative will help develop private-sector partnerships, institutional development and workforce preparation in technology, health care, manufacturing and finance. 

The president and CEO of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, Dr. Harry L. Williams said, “Today’s executive order serves as strong reaffirmation of President Trump’s support of investment of historically Black colleges and universities. This executive order should serve as a call-to-action for corporations, foundations, members of Congress and state lawmakers to redouble their efforts to support HBCUs and their students. TMCF looks forward to continued engagement with the administration and Congress to deliver results for HBCUs and the students they serve via appropriations and other legislative actions.”

On the same day, Trump signed another executive order that removes safeguards for African American schoolchildren by eliminating an Obama-era initiative to protect Black schoolchildren from excessive disciplinary action.

During the Obama administration, the first Black president’s administration created guidelines that sought to prevent school discipline from having a disproportionate effect on minority students. Trump revoked the civil rights initiative during his first term and Biden did not formally restore it. 

At his signing today, Trump said his decision was especially important to the current Education Secretary Linda McMahon, who held the signed order.

“Under the Biden-Harris Administration, schools were forced to consider equity and inclusion when imposing discipline,” McMahon said in a statement. “Their policies placed racial equity quotas over student safety – encouraging schools to turn a blind eye to poor or violent behavior in the name of inclusion.”

She added, “Disciplinary decisions should be based solely on students’ behavior and actions.

Studies show that Black students are punished more often than their white counterparts.

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Black History

President Jimmy Carter Appointed the First Black Woman to Lead a Federal Agency

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President Jimmy Carter advanced opportunities for African Americans throughout his life,
advocating for justice and peace consistent with the Christian values he embraced. Since his
death on December 29 at age 100, Mr. Carter’s praises have been sung from his home state of
Georgia to points around the globe. And while the former president’s one-term in the White
House is dismissed by some political pundits for a lack of policies or accomplishments that
changed the course of history, his character and integrity set him apart.


Carter became the first president to appoint a Black woman head of a federal agency. He chose
Patricia Roberts Harris to lead the Housing and Urban Development when he took office in
1977.


Harris said, “I feel deeply proud and grateful this President chose me to knock down this barrier, but also a little sad about being the ‘first Negro woman,’ because it implies we were not
considered before.”


Senator William Proxmire questioned Carter’s choice, saying Harris came from too much wealth and influence to be an effective leader. But Carter stood by his decision, and Harris stayed in the position for two years.


The 39th president’s name is also included on the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame.


Civil rights activist, Rev. Al Sharpton recalled a conversation he shared with Carter.


“It was very significant, I was talking there at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial, and I was talking to President Clinton and President Carter,” Sharpton recalled. “And when Clinton and I finished talking, President Carter touched me on my arm and said, ‘How are you doing with your ministry, Al? I see you out there with your activism. Don’t leave your ministry … keep your prayer life going.’ And you could tell he sincerely meant it. He was not one who talked about his religion as a political kind of something you could say to voters.”


President Joe Biden declared January 9, 2025, a national day of mourning. Millions watched the former president’s funeral on television as he was remembered as a man of honesty,
compassion and faith – which included championing the rights of Americans who knew firsthand the struggle of injustice

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Black History

The Congressional Black Caucus Prepares for “Important” Work

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The Congressional Black Caucus started the 119th Congress with its largest membership. There were 62 members sworn in today.

“On behalf of the entire Congressional Black Caucus, congratulations to the members of the Executive Committee of the 119th Congress. 53 years after our Caucus’ founding, our work to improve the lives and conditions of Black people in America is more important than ever before,” said CBC President Steven Horsford.

Photo Credit: Ron Busby, U.S. Black Chambers Inc.

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