New Buffalo was surprisingly founded by Captain Wessel D Whittaker of the ship called the “Post Boy” out of Buffalo, NY back in 1834.  The ship ran aground near present day Grand Beach in a violent storm and when they made land and gathered themselves, they were making their way to St. Joseph to report the accident.  Along the way, they realized they came across an area which could make a fantastic harbor, in fact, a major harbor for the southern end of Lake Michigan.  He started buying up land and gathering investors to start infrastructure for his newly named town:  New Buffalo. 

The most recent growth of the area happened back in 1970’s when the completion of Interstate 94 was done and harbor construction was complete.  Chicagoans found the trip to be short, the beaches scenic, and the vacation areas plentiful.  The growth and popularity has bloomed but the small town feel Wessel Whittaker created has remained rather unspoiled.

Harbor Country® is made up of 8 towns:  New Buffalo, Michiana, Grand Beach, Three Oaks, Union Pier, Lakeside, Harbert and Sawyer…..that’s it, no more.  The area has been referred as several things;  “the Hamptons of the Midwest” or “The Gateway of Michigan” but Harbor Country® is the official and trademarked name of the area and what everyone knows it as.  Plenty of time, effort and expense has been taken by the Chamber of Commerce to protect the identity and in doing so, have created a rather unique and popular brand.

The term Harbor Country® is credited to Dick Downing, a Harbor Country® Council member, who thought the term best described the rolling, lush landscape from Three Oaks to the towns along the lakefront.

Well, you’re here, coming here or seriously thinking about it.  What is there to do?  Well, have you come to the right place.  This website is set up exactly for that question.  What to do and where to find the info.

Our first option is to use our directory of everything in the area – places to stay, things to do, activities, food;  you name it, it’s right here.

Or…..here are a bunch of options with links to the local area.

•    The lake, beaches, boating and sunsets galore
•    You like fermented grapes (wine for the uneducated)?  Here you go!
•    Like throwing the dice, hitting the slots?  Give it a click.
•    Love collecting old things?  Antiquing? Right here.
•    Like Shopping?  Who doesn’t?
•    Restaurants, ice cream, pizza, etc.  Plenty of places to feed the need.
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We will re-iterate, you can find the most info and options going through our directory to find what you need.  We have it laid out in a manner that’s pretty easy to find everything.  We would love to direct you to other sites that have all the info, but we can’t find one and got really frustrated…..so we created this one.

If you can’t find out where something is, we have a map link on each business listing.  Along with that, here are some maps you can use of the area.  We hope it helps!

Harbor Country® is a registered trademark of the Harbor Country Chamber of Commerce, New Buffalo, Michigan.