Judge James H. Lincoln Memorial Park
When we checked into our motel in Harbor Beach, the owner, Carl, gave me a rundown on the town, the establishments that call it home, and things we shouldn’t miss. He told me not to miss Judge James H. Lincoln Memorial Park, and he seemed like he meant it. On our second day in town, I was able to get out for a walk by myself to take photos of the downtown area, so I knew I had to stop by the park at some point.
My first impression was a positive one, as there is a huge willow tree in the center of the park, just behind the beach. Most beaches purposefully cut down trees, and any vegetation is stomped into oblivion, so a huge old tree was a welcoming sign.
The beach is wide, and although I was the only one on it, I could imagine how it looked and felt in the warmer months. I continued onward towards the pier, as I wanted to get a photo of the lighthouse in the distance. It was a longer walk to the end of the manmade peninsula than I initially thought, but the view was really something. The sun was just starting to think about going down, and its rays over the water and out to the lighthouse were strikingly beautiful.
The harbor is the largest manmade freshwater harbor in the world, and there were dozens of geese and swans taking refuge within it. It was February, and the water wasn’t frozen, which I thought was quite odd. We would return the next day to find almost all of it frozen, and I couldn’t help but feel badly for the birds.
There’s a playscape on the south side of the park, a bathhouse, and a pavilion. Dozens of picnic tables were stacked underneath it for winter storage, which I imagine would be placed intermittently around the park in warmer weather.
As discussed in the Harbor Beach article, the park is named after Judge James H. Lincoln. He was a University of Michigan graduate, lawyer, Detroit City Councilmember, Probate Court Judge, Juvenile Court judge, and a Harbor Beach native.
I don’t know a terrible amount about Judge Lincoln, but the park that shares his name is a great place to spend an afternoon in any weather, in my opinion.
