Fountain Point Resort’s history
By Rebecca G Carlson
Sun contributor
The second story in our series on the history of Leelanau County resorts and getaways.
“To come once is to linger, and the next year to come again.” Albert Meafoy, Fountain Point’s second owner
As someone who used to beg my parents to go to the Alpine Slide on a daily basis to feed my inner-speed demon, part-owner and co-general manager of Fountain Point Resort, Theo Early, mentioned having a water slide at the resort on the same idea as the toboggan run at The Alpine Slide. The Fountain Point Resort water slide operated from the 1930s until the 1990s. Built on the shores of Lake Leelanau, it was a combination toboggan run that slides into the water—genius! I would have asked my parents to move in permanently to Fountain Point Resort. As Theo and I walked the property, he pointed to where the water slide was located. Sadly, insurance liability issues ended those days of reckless fun. Insurance companies are party poopers. I vote to re-instate the “Water-Chute” of Fountain Point.
Located along the eastern shores of South Lake Leelanau, this 55-acre resort with the original hotel building houses 13 guest rooms which can accommodate 27 guests. Surrounding the main hotel are 19 separate cottages that can sleep around 100 additional guests. Looking at vintage photographs in the on-site museum, it is clear the original footprint of the resort has not altered much in those 100+ years. The careful preservation of the main building, constructed of wood, is a marvel in that it was never a victim of fire like so many other early structures in the peninsula.
Theo explained that, in the early days of the resort, many guests came from the Cincinnati area. Many of these vacationers, with Cincinnati ties, were repeat visitors who would reserve their favorite rooms or cottages year after year. Theo commented that one returning guest this summer is from a Cincinnati family that has been coming to Fountain Point for six generations. This fact alone underscores the loyal customer satisfaction.
According to Britannica, tourism is defined as “the act and process of spending time away from home in pursuit of recreation, relaxation, and pleasure, while making use of the commercial provision of services.” The early families visiting Fountain Point would stay anywhere from two weeks, to a month, to the whole summer, year after year. In 2025, the average visitor stays about a week.
How could families in the late 19th century and early 2oth century reside a month to the whole summer at the resort? Access to the Leelanau Peninsula could be complicated as it usually involved three different phases.
First, most access points began via water with steamships arriving at Glen Arbor, Leland, Northport, Omena, or Traverse City. Secondly, the families would take the railway to another destination to access the third part of the trip either a ferry or carriage that conveyed them to their final resort destination. In traveling from Chicago, Detroit, Cincinnati, or other origination points, traveling took time and patience. In traveling to Fountain Point, most vacationers would begin with steamship travel. From whatever access point they debarked on the Leelanau Peninsula, then the family would take a train arriving at Fouch (railway stop located at the southern-most point of Lake Leelanau). The trip is not quite finished. Then the family would pick up a small water taxi that delivered them to the docks at Fountain Point. It completely makes sense why a family would then stay for a month or the whole summer for vacation.
As one of the earliest resorts of the Leelanau Peninsula, the land was purchased by two Cincinnati families: the Whitfields and the Morrisons in 1887. Civil War veteran Smith Adams Whitfield, later Post-Master General in Cincinnati, and another family, The Morrisons (also of Cincinnati), built the main hotel and cottages opening for guests in 1889. “By June 1889, The Fountain Point House was a reality and guests were arriving for the summer by steamboat and buggy” (Fountain Point Website). These two families owned and successfully managed the resort from 1887 until 1912 when it was purchased by former Vaudeville actor Albert Meafoy.
Purchasing Fountain Point Resort in 1912, second owner and relative to the Whitfields, Meafoy understood marketing. The numerous brochures and advertisements I found in the Traverse City Record Eagle and other publications placed by Meafoy underscores this point. He understood promotion and he understood his audience: wealthy, health conscious resorters from Chicago, Cincinnati and other areas.
From one brochure, Meafoy notes, “In the woodlands one can roam for days in thoughtful recreation among the beech, maple, hemlock and grand old elms, lost in the beauties of nature and forgetful of the busy world outside. Patrons fond of driving will find a good livery at hand to visit the numerous points of interest.” The “driving” he references does not mean a car, but a horse and buggy.
Meafoy also understood the appeal of health-conscious travelers looking to escape the sweltering summers of the big cities. In another brochure, it read, “Fountain Point appeals particularly to cultured people who seek at a reasonable expense a resort where perfect conditions of health may be found, with ample opportunity for sensible diversion and recreation.” It is under Meafoy’s stewardship of the resort that he hires a firm to analyze the waters of the resort’s namesake, the mineral springs fountain of Fountain Point, coined “Frenchman’s Flowing Well” according to another brochure. In promoting the resort as a destination for health concerned vacationers, Meafoy notes that “the water is highly beneficial in a medicinal way. Patrons afflicted with kidney stomach trouble improve wonderfully while here, and sufferers from rheumatism receive great benefit.” The health benefits and beauty derived from the fountain was due to a serendipitous event in 1867.
According to the Fountain Point Resort website, a “French fur trader, Aymar De Belloy, plying his trade near the Narrows of Carp Lake (Lake Leelanau)…became convinced of the beauty and wealth of the area…and purchased a tract of land. [A]ttempt[ing]…[to drill] for oil on the land…[de Belloy] struck a gusher of sparkling water at a depth of 900 feet.” This geyser has now been flowing without fail for over 158 years. Meafoy promoted the beauty of the fountain: “With its rainbow [of colors] it is a beautiful sight by day, with its music, a sweet lullaby by night.”
When standing next to the fountain the slight smell of sulphur is evident, which supports Meafoys’ claims of the water supplying health benefits. The mineral-rich water analysis revealed the following: “iron, calcium, sodium sulphur, and magnesium” (Fountain Point Gong 2). The analysis is similar to the “healing waters” found in Bath, England. So, Meafoy was on to something. After Meafoy’s death in 1934, there isn’t a new owner until 1936.
Victor and Blanche High Gebhardt become the third owners and caretakers of Fountain Point. Victor, a former guest who first came to Fountain Point in 1917, and his wife Blanche were active owners and caretakers of the resort from 1936 until 1957 when the ownership transfers to their two daughters: Elinor and Janet, who owned and co-managed the resort from 1957 until the 1980s. It is the daughters who take a page from Meafoy’s savvy resort promotion skills as they produced a yearly newspaper publication for their dedicated guests, The Fountain Point Gong.
After scouring past editions of these newspapers, I realized how important it was for Elinor and Janet to reach out to their faithful, yearly guests and keep them connected during the off-season. The Fountain Point Gong (FP Gong), produced each Christmas, included sections that spoke directly to the guests. The section “You Asked For It” included the home cooked recipes guests would enjoy all summer season such as, Double Fudge Cake and Frosting, Hot Chicken Salad, and Swedish Stew.
My favorite section of the newspaper was “Things They Remember about Fountain Point.” This section focused on the history and memories of both visitors and employees of Fountain Point. From the Dec. 25, 1960 issue, local resident Emilia Schaub, Michigan’s first woman lawyer, reminisced about both her grandfather and father’s connections to Fountain Point. Grandfather, Simon Schaub, homesteaded on the western shore of Lake Leelanau (then Carp Lake) directly across from the future location of Fountain Point in 1855. She shared that her father, “Frank Schaub,…was present at the time the well was drilled and saw the water gush in a straight stream 50 feet high” (FP Gong 2).
Lastly, Fountain Point Resort caretaker in the 1960s, Albert Priest, remembers working for a livery stable in his younger years and driving: “the ladies of Fountain Point to Peshawbetown…where they bought Indian baskets” (FP Gong 2). In regards to the activities guests of Fountain Point enjoyed, it is in large thanks to Meafoy and his brochures that we have a detailed list.
A Fountain Point brochure dated 1927 explains the activities guests can expect during their stay at the resort. “Evening entertainments of various kinds are provided through the management, while card parties, amateur theatricals and other forms of amusement arranged or conducted by the guests are of frequent occurrence. The men’s lounging room, pocket and carom billiards, table games and the social pipe. Dancing three evenings a week.”
However, I wish to return to the Water Slide. How many resorts can boast of having not only a water slide (and it was way more than just a slide as I witnessed in a YouTube video clip of Fountain Point from the 1960s), but a water toboggan slide designed by the inventor of the Tilt-A-Whirl, Herbert Sellner? This child-at-heart inventor is responsible for creating the “Water Chute” (AKA Water Toboggan) in 1923, followed up by the Tilt-A-Whirl in 1926 (many of us got violently ill on it), and lastly, he invented “The Swooper” in 1928. Essentially it was a glorified diving board in the shape of a water wheel. Yes, please!! That would have been a fun dinner conversation with Sellner – missed that opportunity by several decades. The Traverse City Record Eagle mentions Sellner’s invention in 1933 where “A water chute which provides thrills for both the young and old” was enjoyed by all. I am so sorry I missed it – was too busy being used as child labor by my parents on the cherry farm. Ugh.
Watch the video of Fountain Point from 1969/1970:
Fountain Point Resort joined the National Registry of Historic Places in 2003 under the current ownership: Susan Nichols. This year, Fountain Point celebrates 136 years in continuous business. To this day, the Gebhardt Family descendants are active managers and participants in continuing this family-friendly resort just shy of 90 years of single-family ownership. Thanks to Susan Nichols, granddaughter to Victor Gebhardt, along with her two sons, Theo Early and Erik Zehender, who currently are co-General Managers of Fountain Point Resort for preserving the character and culture of this local treasure.
Located at 990 South Lake Leelanau Drive, Lake Leelanau, MI 49653, this resort encourages visitors to enjoy the peace and quiet of lake living while engaging in family-centered activities. Non-guests can enjoy the summer music concerts held on the front lawn or visit the on-site museum lovingly curated by Susan Nichols. The season for Fountain Point runs from Mid-May until Mid-October. For reservations and more information about this historical family resort please check out their website: fountainpointresort.com
