Colon, Michigan is a small village that might completely escape notice if it weren't for the famous resident that put it on the map. Harry Blackstone made Colon his home, and it became the world's magic capitol.
Colon, Michigan is a magical town.
By all appearances, Colon has no tourist attraction. Its population is 1,200. It has a single downtown strip, two restaurants, and two gas stations (there was only one until just recently). The St. Joseph River winds through it, opening into Palmer Lake which is surrounded almost entirely by private residences and summer cottages. There are eight or nine other lakes in the area where fishing is popular. On most days, there will be several horse-drawn carriages or wagons traveling through town, as it is very near a large Amish community.
So far, not so very different from many other small towns across middle America.
Once a year though, Colon's streets become crowded as visitors from around the world descend on this otherwise sleepy town. The residents rent out their spare bedrooms or even vacate their homes for the visitors and leave town for a week.
What is the event? It's the Magic Festival, or, officially, Abbott's Magic Get-Together. It is the largest convention of magicians in the world.
Why Colon? Because it is the magic capitol of the world.
It was Harry Blackstone""who is now buried there""who put Colon on the map. In 1926 he bought approximately 208 acres of woods, fields, and beachfront property on Sturgeon Lake in Colon. It became his headquarters, workshop, and the most permanent home he ever had. He and his company""the Blackstone Magic Show""would relax there each summer. His son, Harry Blackstone, Jr. was born and raised there.
In 1927, Harry Blackstone Sr. invited Percy Abbott, an Australian magician, to visit him on a fishing trip. He helped form the magic company and then built the magic factory which still draws magicians from around the country. Today it is called Abbott's Magic Company and is the world's largest producer of handmade illusions. The current owner, Greg Bordner, sponsors an annual auction and magical flea market, as well as other seminars and events throughout the year. Where is it? It's the large brick building, painted black, on the outskirts of the downtown area, near the cemetery.
Some magicians even choose to be buried in Colon's huge cemetery. The latest was Karrell Fox, who was buried on a plot near his other magician friends. Even the high school gets into the "magic" spirit. Its mascot is a rabbit coming out of a hat, and its colors are a showman's red and black.
How did this now-famous village get its somewhat unusual name? The village's founder opened a dictionary at random, and set his finger down upon the word "Colon." After reading all the definitions, he decided it especially appropriate because the St. Joseph River reminded him of the shape of a colon.
