About
Epworth Heights is a 270-acre seasonal resort
along the shores of Lake Michigan with 228 privately owned cottages.
Cottagers hail from almost all 50 states and a few foreign countries
and have generations of history at this Ludington-area community
with property in both Pere Marquette and Hamlin townships.
Our purpose
Epworth was started in 1894 by individuals who shared the following purpose:
For the purchase and improvement of grounds to be occupied by summer homes, for camp meetings, for meetings of assemblies or associations and societies organized for intellectual or scientific culture, and for the promotion of the use of religion and morality.
How it all began ... in 1894
As the lumber era waned, Ludington community members formed a Citizens Development Company and looked for new ways to help the area prosper. The F&PM Railroad worked together with the citizens group to draw people to settle the dunes area just north of town, now known as Epworth.
They convinced a group of West Michigan Methodists who were members of the Epworth League Training Assembly to work with them to create a resort, independent from the church and league but dedicated to its principles.
The Epworth League received 240 acres of land, subsidies to build a hotel and an auditorium, and a promise to build a rail line to the resort. The Railroad gained passengers on its line to Ludington and the Ludington Development Company gained more summer business for the area.
The Epworth League agreed to create and manage the resort and run a program that lasted at least two weeks each year. During this time, the Chautauqua Institute promoted popular entertainment programs, which were open to the public, at resorts including Epworth. No doubt the beauty of the sandy Lake Michigan shoreline and the view of the Lincoln River, along with an offer of free land, discounted train transportation and construction of community buildings, lured those early cottagers.
In early 1894, the Auditorium and Hotel were constructed. The first three cottages were built that same year, and by 1899, there were 38 cottages on the resort.
In 1901, Ludington lumber baron Justus Stearns contracted with Epworth to run the Hotel and resort for a 10-year period. He joined the Epworth Board of Trustees in 1902 and remained there until terms were implemented in 1916. The Stearns years saw the greatest period of expansion and promotion as a resort.
Stearns and fellow Ludingtonians, Bishop, Wing, Ward, Danaher and Rath were among the more than 30 local business leaders who owned and developed 60-plus cottages at Epworth in those early years. Epworth has been evolving right along with Ludington, which was founded just 21 years prior to the resort.
The development company agreed to give the land to the Epworth League Training Assembly if the resort was succeeding after 15 years. Succeed it has. Epworth’s founders would probably be stunned at the growth and development since their time, but they would recognize our community spirit.
In 1899, the Epworth Hotel was advertised as “A splendid summer home for families. A safe place for children.’’ Some things really never change.
- Compiled from writings by Steve Hunt, Epworth Historian & Cathy Hunt, 125th Anniversary Planning Organization president