Black Footwear Forum Preview
Presented with support from 
The Idlewild Heritage Trail is an original cultural heritage initiative created in and for Historic Idlewild, Michigan. It preserves and shares the people, places, businesses, and stories that shaped this nationally significant African American community.
This Black Footwear Forum preview features 20 sample stops from a larger trail that will begin with approximately 25 sites and may eventually grow to 100 or more.
Historical research, interpretation, storytelling, and narration are curated by Chris J. Grier, Idlewild Historian & Archivist. The Heritage Trail concept and original content remain the intellectual and cultural property of the Idlewild Heritage Trail and its Idlewild creators.
Presented at the Black Footwear Forum with support from Merrell.
What you see here is only the beginning.
All Trail Stops
- 01The Pomiserania Lodge & Motel
- 02Lydia Inn & Castallante Pizza
- 03Sweetheart Motel
- 04Holiday House
- 05Yates School #3 / Idlewild Public Library / Township Hall
- 06Paradise Lake
- 07Lake Idlewild
- 08Morton’s Motel
- 09Robert H. Riffe Youth Center / ILOA
- 10The Flamingo
- 11Yates School #4 / Township Hall / Festival Grounds
- 12Hotel Casa Blanca
- 13Charles W. Chesnutt Home
- 14Bayview / Gregory Home
- 15Joseph Howard
- 16Tabernacle A.M.E. Church
- 17LeeJon’s Novelty Shop
- 18Carrie Warner / Barbara Johnson Home
- 19Black Eden Brews
- 20Rosana’s / Red Rooster / Peyton’s Bar and Grill & Idlewild’s Neighborhood Businesses