In 1849 the Whitefish Point lighthouse was put into service. Soon after the township was organized in 1888, lumber towns such as Emerson and Shelldrake emerged at the mouth of the Tahquamenon and Shelldrake rivers. Paradise was established in 1925. In the 1920s lumbering declined and fires burned the cutover land, creating rich soil for blueberries. Cranberry and blueberry cultivation, as well as commercial fishing on Whitefish Bay sustained area's economy.