Michigan Stories: Club Manitou Gangster Hangout

Have you ever wanted to own a unique cabin near Lake Michigan? This one recently for sale is quite unique. The Club Manitou, a legit gangster hangout from the 1920s built by Detroit Purple Gang-affliated Will/Al Gerhart, was recently put to new use after 50 years of private ownership by a Harbor Springs collective of media and film professionals who moved back to their hometown to pass on their artform to young people at local schools. This Hollywood 2 Harbor program allows local teens to explore film and related arts through the mentorship of this collective of filmmakers, producers, and local historian Taylor Dueweke, who is slowly piecing the story of the Manitou Club together by contacting locals who scrawled their names and stories on the bathroom walls.

The Manitou Club: Monaco of Michigan

First, the history: How did Club Manitou come to be a favorite of celebrities and organized crime? Harbor Springs is a quiet boating town in the far remote northwest coast of Michigan near tourist town Petoskey, which is famous for its unique Petoskey stone fossilized coral and long history of homesteading and lumber dating back 200 years. (Fun fact, this author's great-great grandfather delivered the mail in nearby East Jordan on horse and buggy with skis in the 1850s until there was a local post office in Petoskey.) Gangster Gerhart opened a casino and speakeasy in Harbor Springs during prohibition by agreeing to cater only to visitors and not the hard-working locals so the police turned a blind eye to the liquor and gambling. It wasn't long before this club was one of the most popular clubs for tourists in the area. Complete with underground hidden tunnels rumored to run all the way to the local airport, there was a time this place was in a constant buzz of booze and celebrity gossip. The place was so busy that when it eventually closed it reopened as a local dance club for teenagers (soda on tap) called the Ponytail Club in the 1960s.

Waitstaff was brought in from New York City from Club Vatel, serving fine cuisine one the main floor, and moonshine in the basement, which was only accessible from outdoors via a heavy door running on metal wheels. An unfortunate fire put an end to the Ponytail Club, but not before they hosted musical acts like The Animals and The Beach Boys.

These days, the cabin is quiet and raising funds by offering tours through the tunnels. Dueweke told local media he is putting together a documentary that will belong to the entire region, remembering the history of this place.

If you would like to learn more about the new plans for the revival of the Manitou Club or the artistic vision of its founders in Harbor Springs, visit Spirit of the Manitou to meet the team and connect.

Spirit of the Manitou