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[[File:Emerson, MI post office and inn (1880).jpg|thumb|left|250px|Emerson Inn and post office (''c.'' 1890s)]]
The area was settled as early as 1880, and the community grew after the Chesbrough brothers from [[Detroit]] built a sawmill here in 1882. The community was named Emerson after one of their relatives, Chris Emerson, who was an eccentric millionaire lumberman from [[Saginaw, Michigan|Saginaw]]. A post office began operating here on April 15, 1884 with Fremont B. Chesbrough serving as the first postmaster.<ref name=ROMIG>{{cite book |first1=Walter |last1=Romig |title=Michigan Place Names: The History of the Founding and the Naming of More Than Five Thousand Past and Present Michigan Communities |type=Paperback |orig-date= 1973 |date=October 1, 1986 |publisher=[[Wayne State University Press]] |isbn = 978-0-8143-1838-6 |location=Detroit, Michigan| page=183}}</ref> The community became part of [[Whitefish Township, Michigan|Whitefish Township]] when the township was formally organized in 1888. In 1890, Emerson had a population of 109, while the sparsely-populated township recorded a population of 251 at the [[1890 United States census|1890 census]].<ref>{{cite web|last=[[United States Census Bureau|U.S. Census Bureau]]|url=https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/41033935v15-21ch7.pdf|title=Thirteenth Census of the United States; taken in 1910: Statistics For Michigan|date=1913|accessdate=November 22, 2022|page=576}}</ref> At that time, the community was isolated and had no roadways. Travel and supplies came weekly by ship from [[Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan|Sault Ste. Marie]] during the navigation season. The first roadway to Emerson was built in 1891, and the community grew to include a general store and school.<ref name=NINE>{{cite news |publisher = 9&10 News |url = https://www.9and10news.com/2020/10/21/northern-michigan-in-focus-rediscovering-emerson/ |title = Northern Michigan in Focus: Rediscovering Emerson |date = 21 October 2021 |access-date = October 23, 2023 }}</ref><ref name=DODGE>{{cite book | last = Ray| first = Dodge | year = 1996 | title = Michigan Ghost Towns: Of the Upper Peninsula (formerly Michigan Ghost Towns, Vol. III) | orig-year= 1973 | publisher = Thunder Bay Press Michigan | location = Alpena, Michigan | isbn = 9780934884020| pages = 55–56}}</ref>
By the turn of the century, the community was thriving, and numerous other lumbering companies settled in the area to exploit the region's plentiful lumber supplies. Emerson benefited greatly due to its location near the mouth of the Tahquamenon River, where lumber was routinely floated down the river to the lakefront sawmills that could easily ship the lumber. The Chesbrough Lumber Company could process 125,000 board feet (38,100 meters) of lumber a day.<ref name=NINE/> After the lumber resources were depleted, the sawmill closed in 1912. Many residents soon left the community, and the post office was closed on February 15, 1914.<ref name=ROMIG/> The lumber industry continued in the area but was mostly centered in the community of [[Shelldrake, Michigan|Shelldrake]] to the north. Shelldrake suffered a similar fate after the lumber industry ceased operation there by 1925.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Sprague |last1=Taylor |title=Tahquamenon Country: A Look at Its Past |type=Paperback |date=2008 |publisher=[[Michigan State University Press]] |isbn = 978-0870138331 |location=East Lansing, Michigan| pages=86–89, 93–102}}</ref>
After the sawmill closed, Emerson continued to sustain as a commercial fishing community, but the population dwindled. In 1927, a new school was built nearby in the community of [[Paradise, Michigan|Paradise]], and the school in Emerson closed. By 1939, Emerson had around 25 residents that consisted of fishermen and their families, and the following year, an unnamed citized deeded {{convert|2000|acres|sqkm|2}} of land to the state.<ref name=DODGE/> In 1947, the area became part of the newly-established [[Tahquamenon Falls State Park]].<ref>{{cite web|last=State of Michigan|url=https://www.michigan.gov/-/media/Project/Websites/dnr/Documents/PRD/SP100/DatesParksEstablished.pdf?rev=9b6e1cddf885486f870403c98bd51d55|title=When were Michigan state parks and recreation areas established?|accessdate=October 23, 2023}}</ref> By 1954, [[M-123 (Michigan highway)|M-123]] was extended north to the Tahquamenon River to Emerson.<ref name="MSHD54-04">{{cite MDOT map |date = 1954-04-15 |sections = B10–C10 }}</ref> However, by this time, the community was completely abandoned, and all remaining structures were removed or demolished. The only remaining trace of the former community is the eroding concrete foundation of the Chesbrough Lumber Company sawmill on an unnamed island just south of the mouth of the Tahquamenon River.<ref name=NINE/>
===Historic designation===
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