Welcome to the Slabtown Neighborhood Association Website

Slabtown is both an original & historic area and a modern, dynamic neighborhood in Traverse City.  Our association meets regularly with community events planned throughout the year. 

We invite you to look through current and past activities using our calendar and the tabs above. 

If you are a resident, we urge you to sign up with your latest contact information!

SPRING MEETING: Wednesday, May 24th at 7PM at the Traverse Bay Methodist Church.

Slabtown Neighborhood Association

 

Meeting Agenda – Spring Meeting

 

Wednesday, May 24, 2023  7:00pm

 

Traverse Bay United Methodist Church

1200 Ramsdell Rd

Traverse City, MI 49684

 

 

1.     SNA Committee Updates

·      Social Committee

·  Building and Zoning

·  Master Planning

·  Traffic and Streets

·  Executive Committee

2.    Presentation and Discussion on Proposed changes to TC Zoning Regulations

3.   Open Forum (Time permitting)

4.   Adjourn


Slabtown Neighborhood History

In the latter half of the 19th century, Traverse City’s West Bay waterfront was a loud, smoky collection of sawmills, docks, stables and warehouses. 

Wood harvested from throughout northern Michigan was hauled to saw mills here to produce slab-boards and lumber and Christmas trees shipped to ports around the Great Lakes. 

Workers were only allowed to physically drag what leftover slabs they could to construct a basic home near the mills. Thus the neighborhood known today as Slabtown was created – because early structures housed the people who labored nearby on the Bay (many of them Bohemians from what was Czechoslovakia - until 1993). 

Today, Slabtown with frontage to the Bay, is a sought-after neighborhood with 3 parks - Ashton, Darrow and Veteran's Park – all offering terrific spaces to relax and play.  Also, notable are the Hickory Hills Ski and natural preserve areas.

SlabtownNA_DRAFT_V2.pdf