Web Design in Boyne Falls, MI

About Boyne Falls, Charlevoix County

Boyne Falls is a village of 358 people (2020 census, up from 294 in 2010) in Boyne Valley Township, in southeastern Charlevoix County, Michigan. It covers 0.57 square miles at an elevation of 722 feet, sits on US 131 where M-75 reaches its southern terminus, and lies along the Boyne River near the junction of the river's north and south branches. Boyne Mountain Resort stands just southeast of the village limits, and the village takes its ZIP code 49713 and area code 231.

History of Boyne Falls

• The community took its name from the Boyne River and the falls, or rapids, at this point on it. John Miller, the first settler near the mouth of the river, named the area after the River Boyne near Dublin in his native Ireland.
• The township around it was organized as Boyne Valley in 1873 by the county board of supervisors, acting on an application signed by William Nelson, J. A. Sudman Jr., E. W. Anson, Robert Coan, Eugene Kyes, F. K. Robinson, J. A. Sudman Sr., George Rolls, James Scipio, George W. Garrett and Hershal Magee.
• The town site was first platted in 1873 by William Nelson and Joseph Powers under the name Boyne Valley, and was officially named Boyne Falls the following year.

Landmarks and Places in Boyne Falls

• The Village Hall and village office at 2279 Railroad Street.
• The Boyne River, which runs through the village near the junction of its north and south branches, and the falls that gave the village its name.
• Boyne Mountain Resort and Boyne Mountain Airport, immediately southeast of the village limits.

The Boyne Falls Economy

• Boyne Mountain Resort, operated by Boyne Resorts, lies just southeast of the village limits near Boyne Mountain Airport. It was co-developed by Everett Kircher, Jim Christianson and John Norton, who bought the site in 1948 from Michigan state senator William Pierson and opened it as a ski resort in 1949.
• The resort runs ten chairlifts and a carpet lift serving 60 runs, four terrain parks and a ski cross course, and two golf courses, The Alpine and The Monument. Its Avalanche Bay is described as the largest indoor water park in Michigan.
• Boyne Mountain still uses parts of the first chairlift ever built, constructed by the Union Pacific Railroad in 1936 for Sun Valley, Idaho, and moved to Michigan by the founders. Between 1948 and 1992 Boyne Mountain and its sister resort Boyne Highlands introduced the world's first triple chairlift in 1963, the world's first quad chairlift in 1965 and the first six passenger chairlift in the United States in 1992.

Community Life in Boyne Falls

• The Boyne Falls Polish Festival has run annually since 1975 and is held on the first full weekend of August at the corner of Mill and Railroad Streets. The 51st annual festival is scheduled for July 30 through August 2, 2026.
• The festival's regular program includes a polka tent, a carnival, a car show, a youth day, a bump and run, a cornhole tournament, a 5K run, Sunday mass in the polka tent, a four wheel drive mud run and the Grand Royal Parade on Saturday morning.
• The festival grew out of a Bicentennial committee formed in 1974 under chairman Janet Rewald, which decided to also hold a celebration in 1975 for the village centennial. George Matelski was the first honored citizen and Judy Matelski was voted Centennial Queen. It became officially known as the Boyne Falls Polish Festival in 1977.

Local reference: en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org