The Rose-n-Berry Lake Retreat

The Retreat is located in Colon, MI. “The Magic Capitol of the World”. Come experience the hidden gem of southern Michigan. It is part of River Country in Southwest Michigan.
Colon is located on the eastern border of St. Joseph County. It is situated between Palmer and Sturgeon Lakes, which are part of the St. Joseph River chain of lakes in the area.

This town was founded in the mid 1830’s by the Schellhouse family, one of the first to settle in the area. It was named by Lorensie Schellhouse when he opened a dictionary at random and saw the word: "colon." He indicated the town would be named that, as he felt the lake and the river resembled the shape of a grammatical colon.

Today, Colon remains a picturesque town situated on a hill overlooking a dam holding back the waters of Palmer Lake. It has also preserved much its turn-of-the-century architecture downtown, making it a pleasant place to visit, shop and enjoy the scenery. 

 

Colon’s romance with magic began that summer of 1926. Blackstone gave many of the townspeople their first taste of magic at a local citizens’ club lawn party that first summer.

 

The impression Blackstone made on the people that afternoon was very favorable. The local newspaper reported that his performance at the lawn party was the surprise of the afternoon and referred to him as the world’s greatest magician. The townspeople enjoyed having a celebrity in their midst.

Blackstone Island, as it was renamed, formed a fairy-tale setting in those days. There was only one dirt road of access which crossed a small land bridge between the village and the island. There were row boats for fishing Sturgeon Lake and the St. Joseph River which flowed through the north end of the lake. It was like having one big family for the members of the troop.