No One Remembers This Scenic Roadside Overlook in Southern Michigan

A postcard of a roadside scene no one could remember was shared to the Three Rivers area "Bob's Local History Club" Facebook page recently.

The postcard is simply captioned "On Route - Near Three Rivers Michigan" and shows a steep staircase to what appears to be a scenic overlook with a highway at the bottom of the hill.

Interestingly, no one can remember ever seeing this overlook.

The best guess would be a spot along present-day US 131 near Cotherman Lake between Three Rivers and Schoolcraft.

That location, see below how it looked in the summer of 2023, shows a staircase similar, but not exactly matching, the one in the post card. The staircase leads to an overlook of Cotherman Lake. Being a high point, there was likely a nice vantage point of the area.

If the postcard view is of that location, this commenter gives a plausible explanation:

I remember something similar prior to 131 becoming 4 lanes. The hill was cut in order for the highway to be flattened.

The reverse of the postcard, which is for sale on eBay, says only it was produced by the Sturgis News Agency. That company published cards of scenes from this part of Southern Michigan and Northern Indiana in the 1940s.

It's a great mystery and a little roadside Michigan history that has clearly been lost.

US 131 south of Kalamazoo may not, today, be many people's idea of a scenic drive, but check out these most scenic and must-drive roads from across America.