Clear Springs Nature Preserve
nature Preserve in Muskegon County, Michigan
Clear Springs Nature Preserve is a nature preserve located in Montague Township, Michigan, less than half a mile from the interchange between US Highway 31 (US 31) and Business US 31 near Montague. It is heavily forested and features a pond, a creek, and six different hiking trails, the Rim Trail, Pond Side Trail, Crest Trail, Spring Trail, East Boundary Trail, and West Boundary Trail. These trails can be hiked in two different loop distances. The long loop goes from Spring Trail to the West Boundary trail to the Rim Trail, and ends with the East Boundary Trail, a total of 1.5 mils (3.8×10−8 km) while the short loop goes from Spring Trail to the Pond Side Trail and ends with the Rim Trail, a total of 0.9 miles (1.4 km). In total, there are 2.6 miles (4.2 km) of hiking trails. There are no other developed facilities except for a donation box, map display, and a small dirt parking area located at the main entrance near Fruitvale Road and the US 31 interchange, while the other entrance is located at Walsh Road. The nature preserve also has many benches and signposts that inform visitors of the many different species and tree types, most notably the red pine tree.
History
In 1848, the land was used for one of the first trading posts in the Montague area. Later in the 1800s, U.S. Senator Thomas W. Ferry owned the land; the only Michigan senator to have held position in multiple congresses, (44th and 45th) and the only Michigan politician to be the president pro tempore of the United States Senate. In the 1940s and early 1950s, the property would be home to North Star Fishery, where fish were raised on the property for over 10 years, with the remains of a hatchery viewable from the Spring trail.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Clear Springs Nature Preserve” as nature Preserve in Muskegon County, Michigan. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as nature Preserve in Muskegon County, Michigan. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 4, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q117305663. Authority coordinates are 43.442, -86.332. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1848.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
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Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Clear Springs Nature Preserve”, its source revision and the description used here.
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- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Clear Springs Nature Preserve” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.