The Story of the King of the Flats

When there was a one room school house at the corner of M-25 (aka Lakeshore Drive) and Pochert Road a couple miles north of Port Hope, Michigan, the King of the Flats was often a short hike north down to the “Flats” for a picnic and hear the tales of how this stone became a “King”.

The old Gore School and its associated outhouse are long gone, but the stories remain. The “King” made the “flats” safe and kept the Whiskey Harbor and Sung Harbor safe from the ghosts of the smugglers who brought booze over from Canada during prohibition.

As kids, we would climb the rock and shout, “We are the King of the Flat!”. “Nobody can harm us.”

Years later, many Pochert families often visited the “rock” where many memories were created.

Pochert Road

The road leads toward the shoreline near Whiskey Harbor and the Kernan Memorial Nature Sanctuary. The Michigan Nature Association notes that visitors can access the Lake Huron shoreline “once they reach the end of Pochert Road.”

References:

• Michigan Nature Association – Kernan Memorial Nature Sanctuary
• Kernan Memorial Nature Sanctuary Face Sheet (PDF)