Ken-Tuck-U-Inn

A shaded Ken-tuck-U-Inn

NPS Photo/C. Killian

Quick Facts

Amenities

2 listed

Audio Description, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits

The Ken-Tuck-U-Inn stits near the southern boundary of the park, north of Long Lake Road on M-22. The inn is one-half mile north of the Welcome to Sleeping Bear Dunes entrance sign by Crystal Lake. It is about one-half mile south of Old Indian Trail and Sutter Road.

This cozy inn represents the final chapter for the ghost town of Aral. This former logging town sat at the mouth of Otter Creek, near the end of Esch Road. The first white settler in Aral was Robert Bancroft, who was a printer and a photographer. Around 1882, Dr. Arthur O'Leary purchased much of the forested land around Aral and built a sawmill on Otter Creek. After a few years, Aral had a population of 200 people, mostly consisting of mill hands and lumbermen. To supply the growing town, Robert Bancroft opened a general store. While in Aral, he also had a son named Bertie.

By 1911 there were no more logs for the lumber mill to process. The mill shut down, and Aral began to fade away. Many residents looked for other sources of income after the mill shut down. To support the growing number of tourists in the 1920s, some farms in the area began to operate as inns.

Bertie Bancroft and his wife, Donna, were the last people to leave Aral. In 1925 they built the Ken-Tuck-U-Inn. The building was painted pale yellow and was surrounded by gardens, flower beds, and trees. Books and seashells decorated the sunroom. The Ken-Tuck-U-Inn is larger than a typical family farmhouse. The size allowed the Bancrofts to accommodate visitors in addition to their growing family.

The Bancrofts used fresh ingredients to serve homestyle meals to their guests, which was more profitable than selling them on the market. Chicken dinners were a Sunday specialty at the inn. These meals featured fresh produce from their garden and the Bancrofts' farm-raised chickens. During the peak tourist season, Donna and her staff prepared Sunday dinners for over 100 guests on her wood stove. They also tended several cows for milk, ice cream, and other desserts. Some guests returned to the area every year until they purchased their own summer cottages in the area. Many of the guests became good friends.

The Ken-Tuck-U-Inn operated until Bertie's death in 1963. Donna passed away one year later. Several years afterward, the National Park Service took stewardship of the inn and it is now preserved as a historic property. As you peek in the windows or sit on the back porch, you can almost hear the chatter and laughter of guests as they enjoy a hearty chicken dinner with friends.