Best Web Design in Douglas, MI (2026)

Web Design for Douglas, Michigan

Douglas is a lakeshore arts-and-resort town on the Kalamazoo River harbor in Allegan County, joined at the hip to Saugatuck across the water and collectively branded 'The Art Coast of Michigan.' A former lumber and peach-shipping village, it is now one of the country's best-known LGBTQ vacation destinations, anchored by the 20-acre Dunes Resort that the New York Times called 'the Fire Island of the Midwest.' For nearly half a century it was also home to the SS Keewatin, a 1907 Edwardian Great Lakes steamship moored as a museum until it was towed back to Canada in 2012.

AppWT serves Douglas and the surrounding Michigan area from Livonia, Michigan.

About Douglas

Also known as. The Art Coast of Michigan (shared with neighboring Saugatuck). The Fire Island of the Midwest (New York Times, for its LGBTQ resort scene). The Village of Friendliness since 1870 (town motto). City of the Village of Douglas (official legal name).

History. First settled around 1851 as a lumber mill town called Dudleyville. Renamed Douglas in 1861, reportedly for statesman Stephen A. Douglas (an alternative story credits Douglas on the Isle of Man). Incorporated as a village in 1870, adopting the motto 'The Village of Friendliness.' Area sawmills supplied lumber that helped rebuild Chicago after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. After the surrounding forests were cut, the local economy shifted to growing and shipping peaches, then to summer resorts. Became part of an art colony during the Arts and Crafts movement of the late 19th century as painters were drawn to the dunes and beaches. The Douglas Dunes resort was founded in 1981 by Carl Jennings and Larry Gammons, growing into one of America's largest LGBTQ resorts. On December 13, 2004, residents voted to adopt a city charter, making Douglas an independent city (the 'City of the Village of Douglas').

Local economy. Historic progression from lumber milling to fruit (peach) growing and shipping to resort tourism. Today driven by tourism, second homes, hospitality, and the arts. A cluster of galleries has long defined the local economy, including Water Street Gallery, LaFontsee Galleries, and Button Gallery. LGBTQ tourism is a major economic engine, anchored by the 20-acre Dunes Resort with roughly 80 rooms, cottages, and suites plus a large entertainment complex. More than 1.5 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline and 2-plus miles of Kalamazoo River/Lake Kalamazoo harbor frontage support boating and beach tourism.

Culture and community. Half of the 'Art Coast of Michigan,' with a monthly 'Art in Douglas' gallery event on the second Saturday. One of the Midwest's premier LGBTQ destinations; Saugatuck-Douglas is described as the only LGBTQ-focused vacation area between Provincetown, Massachusetts and California's Russian River. The Dunes Resort features a disco/bar complex, cabaret, and outdoor patio dance floors that draw visitors nationwide. The Douglas Dutchers vintage base ball club plays 19th-century-rules baseball at Beery Field, where organized ball dates back to about 1860. A Pride Celebration Garden sits at 147 W. Center Street. Prairie School architect George Washington Maher is associated with the community's early-20th-century design heritage.

What makes Douglas distinct. The New York Times nicknamed the Dunes Resort 'the Fire Island of the Midwest.' For roughly 44 years an ocean-liner-style 1907 Edwardian steamship, the SS Keewatin, sat docked in little Douglas as a museum before being dredged out and towed back to Ontario in 2012. Wood milled in Douglas helped rebuild Chicago after the 1871 Great Fire. The town's official corporate name is the tongue-twisting 'City of the Village of Douglas,' a relic of its 2004 shift from village to city. Douglas and Saugatuck have been documented as an LGBTQ community for more than 100 years, long predating the modern resort era. Two competing, unresolved origin stories exist for the name 'Douglas' (Senator Stephen A. Douglas vs. Douglas, Isle of Man).

Douglas Landmarks and Local Life

• Dunes Resort (333 Blue Star Highway) - one of the largest LGBTQ resorts in the U.S
• Former berth of the SS Keewatin - a 1907 Canadian Pacific Great Lakes passenger steamship that served as a maritime museum on the Kalamazoo River from 1967/1968 until 2012
• Beery Field - a historic ballpark rebuilt with a 1935 WPA grant and used for baseball for over a century
• Wick's Park - tied to the area's shipbuilding history
• The Blue Star Highway - opened in 1936 with a causeway and fixed span linking the shoreline communities
• The Douglas Union School on Center Street - preserved as part of local history