Grayling began as Crawford Station, built in 1872 by the Jackson, Lansing and Saginaw railroad to serve logging activities at the site of today's Crawford County Historical Museum. In 1874, residents renamed the town for the abundant grayling fish in the area. Lumber helped it grow into a bustling community, and by 1920 its population was nearly 2,500, with hotels, saloons, and stores downtown. Long before Grayling, the Anishnaabek lived on this land, which offered access to important land and water transportation routes, including the nearby Mackinac and Cheboygan Trails and a short portage north of here between the AuSable and Manistee Rivers that allowed travel between Lakes Huron and Michigan almost entirely by canoe. French fur traders in the 18th century also found the location ideal for shipping goods. Among Grayling's notable residents was Thomas Ke Chittago, an Ojibwe man and one of the first Union sharpshooters in the Civil War, who served as a sergeant in Company K, 1st Michigan Sharpshooters Regiment, fought at Spotsylvania Court House and in the capture of Petersburg, then moved to Grayling in 1867 and worked as a farmer, log driver, and constable until his death in 1916. Grayling also became closely associated with Bear Archery: Fred Bear, a pioneer in archery whose innovations included the bow quiver and who encouraged Michigan's first archery deer season, founded Bear Archery in Detroit in 1933, moved it to Grayling in 1947, and operated there for 31 years before the plant relocated to Florida in 1978, producing affordable recurve bows and longbows that helped popularize the sport.