At the time of the arrival of the first Europeans to the area, French explorer Father Jacques Marquette in 1675 reported seeing the Miami people in his travels down the nearby St. Joseph River.

Four years later, the exploration party of René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, reported that the Miami were being displaced by the Potawatomi.

In 1834, one of the first permanent European-American settlers to the area, Captain Wessell Whittaker, ran his schooner Post Boy aground near what is now the village of Grand Beach.

The captain and crew found shelter a bit south of there at the present-day Michigan City, Indiana.

While traveling north to St. Joseph to report the ship's loss to its underwriters, Whittacker was so struck by the beauty of the area and the natural harbor that he filed claim to a large tract of land around the mouth of the Galien River.

This lasted until the Panic of 1837, which brought an abrupt end to most speculative land development in the area for several years.

Around the turn of the century, the area began to be recognized for its vacation and resort potential, resulting in summer cottages, camps and hotels.

1921 saw the opening of the Golfmore Hotel, rated as one of the finest resorts on the Great Lakes.

Like much of the country, the area struggled through the Great Depression, followed by booming growth after World War II.