The oldest post office in Michigan can be found in Grand Traverse County in Peninsula Township.

The Old Mission General Store was founded in 1839 by a missionary, setting up a wigwam near Grand Traverse Bay that contained the first post office in northern Michigan.

The post office was moved to a more modern structure in 1850 and has been an operable building ever since. According to mlive.com, it’s “the state's oldest post office to operate out of the same location”. Part of the original structure can be seen in the center of the store…the wood floors and pot-belly stove give away the location. Inside the store is what is considered to be the oldest post office in northern Michigan, and one of the oldest in the state.

Not just a store and post office, but a telephone operator used to function here, as evidenced by an old, non-working switchboard.

Detroit auto mogul Henry Ford apparently thought highly of this place, as he brought four presidents to visit over a number of years, the last of which was Theodore Roosevelt.

If you decide to stop, the store has plenty for travelers: candy, preserves, antiques, gifts, coffee, ice cream, meals, and plenty of oddities and souvenirs!

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