Introducing the Bohemians of Leelanau County
By Rebecca Gearing Carlson
Sun contributor
Part six of our Leelanau Farming Family Series.
Bohemian Valley, Bohemian Beach, Bohemian Road, the Bohemian Settlement, and the Bohemian Cemetery. From where does the name Bohemian originate and why do we find it in Leelanau County?
When I think of the word Bohemian, the social and cultural movement of the 19th century comes to mind: writers, journalists, painters, actors, and other creative people living outside the norms of society. Thackeray’s Vanity Fair, Puccini’s La Boheme, and Bizet’s Carmen are beautifully written stories about the Bohemians who purposely pushed the accepted limits of societal practices and despised conventionality. The only similarities, however, between Bohemianism and the central European Bohemians are the names.
According to Britannica, “Bohemia’s name comes from a Celtic [tribe] known as the Boii.” This group splintered into two areas: Northern Italy and Central Europe. Through political, social, and religious upheaval from the groups surrounding these tribes they suffered conquest and almost extermination. Under Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV’s protection, the Bohemians experienced a renaissance and their numbers increase.
However, in the 19th century, Bohemian people were targeted. Fleeing political persecution by the Hapburgs in their home country, Bohemians (Czech and Slovak descent) began emigrating to the United States and Canada in small numbers by 1848 settling in Chicago, New York, Milwaukee, parts of Canada, and slowly making their way farther inland to Northern Michigan. Following work opportunities, these Bohemians slowly made their way to areas of the Midwest where jobs existed in lumbering, wood mills, carpentry, blacksmithing and iron work, construction, shipping, and later, farming. As is evident in the previous stories of the German families coming to the area, the Bohemians migrated with the work opportunities.
While the Leelanau County Bohemians share some of the artistic leanings of Bohemianism, as is evident in journals and histories about the settlements at both North Unity and Gills Pier, the Bohemians of Leelanau County are a different group altogether. According to the website gustavefristensky.com, “Most Bohemian immigrants made the journey to the United States with their families. This marks a contrast with the immigration patterns of other ethnic groups, such as the Germans, English, Poles, and Slovaks, who tended to come over individually.” They arrived in small communities of families and friends. These hardworking families made an incredibly arduous journey to escape social, political, and religious mistreatment. They were not fighting convention and social norms, they were leaving to protect their beliefs and families. The Bohemians arriving mid-nineteenth century to the Leelanau Peninsula brought their families, culture, and religion.
“Encouraged by word of homestead opportunities in Michigan, several families contributed $5 each and, in the summer of 1855, sent Mr. Shalda to scout out the possibilities. Struck by this area’s resemblance to the land they had left in Europe, he chose Good Harbor in what would become Leelanau County” (Ropp, North Unity at Shalda’s Corners: Our History). The courage and determination to sail across Lake Michigan from Chicago in late summer would seem non-treacherous when compared to other times of the year. However, traveling to and scouting an undeveloped area in the hopes of settling his family took nerves of steel. Other than the supplies he carried, Shalda relied on help from fellow travelers and any outposts nearby where he landed.
The Shaldas arrived to the area, specifically what is now Port Oneida, with two other families, the Svobodas and the Krubners. They settled in November 1855 just as winter began in Northern Michigan. The handwritten account from Mr. Joseph Krubner for a Chicago newspaper in 1908, named The Bohemian Daily, describes the trip to Michigan and their landing beautifully: “After sometime on Lake Michigan [the immigrants] docked in a village occupied by French and Indians opposite of [the] Manitou Islands which was later called ‘Good Harbor.’…[The families] secure a proper place for [a] new city as land was free for Homesteaders. …[I]n deep forests, never touched by human hands, [they] began a new city ‘North Unity.’”
According to Ropp, “the name ‘North Unity’ was chosen to signify the spirit of cooperation between the Bohemians and the Germans that was necessary to survive that first winter.” Once the families landed, they were housed at the “Verein Barracks” until housing could be completed in the spring. Krubner continues describing the harsh conditions of that first Michigan winter. “Everything was fine till the winter came. It was very hard as …Lake Michigan [froze], snow began to pile up [and] we were cut off from all civilization.” Those who brought supplies from Chicago were lucky. As there were no supply stores, buying flour or any kind of meat was impossible, “except a little corn from the Indians.” If not for inhabitants on North Manitou supplying potatoes, the new settlers would have starved that first winter.
Neither community ever forgot the lessons of that first winter and the enduring friends created for generations between German and Bohemian families. “Grasping the true meaning of America, [the Bohemians] buried their differences, pooled their resources and became one people united for the good of all” (Ropp). Furthermore, Joseph Krubner explains the harmony of a work camp outside of the settlement. “Evenings we spent together with [the] rest of the people singing our native songs. We had a mixture of nations as there were Irish, German, French, Scandinavian, and us Czechs.” This alliance of community is still a proud hallmark of the people on the Leelanau Peninsula.
The second Bohemian settlement is located north of Leland and south of Northport. Named Gills Pier after William Gill, who owned and managed a lumbering camp and sawmill, there is no clear answer as to why this second Bohemian settlement occurred other than people pursuing job opportunities. Following the Civil War, the Gills Pier settlement grew with soldiers returning home and another influx of Bohemian immigrants. From personal interviews and accounts, this second settlement occurred while the North Unity settlement began to lose work opportunities and the population decreased.
In questioning families related to the Gills Pier settlement, I have not been able to find a definitive answer as to how and why the Gills Pier settlement grew. It made sense that as one settlement lost job opportunities, the workers and families there migrated to continue supporting themselves. So far, I only discovered one direct connection between the two settlements. In speaking with Julius Kolarik, he shared information about his ancestor, Volfgang Kolarik. He stated that “Volfgang must have been a part of the North Unity settlement as there exists a grave marker with his child’s name.” Other than that direct connection between the two settlements, I could not find any more information. Did the settlers of North Unity migrate to Gills Pier to work? Perhaps with the Homestead Act of 1862 and the opportunities to expand and own land played a factor in North Unity dying out and the settlers gravitating to Gills Pier.
However, the Gills Pier Bohemians are a strong and vibrant community to this day. Surrounding the Catholic Church St. Wenceslaus are the families of Gills Pier with farms that have existed prior to the 1880 plat maps of Leelanau County. Families like Korson, Kolarik, Houdek, Kalchik, Reicha, Sedlacek, Jelinek, and Kovarik, to be featured in future Farming Family articles, have lived, raised their families, and worked their farms and businesses since the first wave of Bohemians came to the area. Their cultural, social and religious beliefs serve to support their communal ties and families. As Martin Korson, a Bohemian descendant, stated in a recent interview, “[Our] ties run deep” in this county.
A special acknowledgement to Kim Kelderhouse and Emma Keaton of The Leelanau Historical Society for all your help in finding the wonderful journals and other first-hand documents I used in this article.
