Colon, MI

Colon is a St. Joseph County village between Sturgeon Lake and Palmer Lake, and its best-known local tradition is magic. The village was platted in 1844 and incorporated in 1904, but the Abbott Magic Company and Abbott's Magic Get-Together gave Colon its enduring nickname, 'The Magic Capital of the World.' Percy Abbott and Recil Bordner built the business and convention there, while Harry Blackstone Sr. remains part of the town's magic history. Every August, magicians come in for the four-day gathering, while the lakes and nearby St. Joseph River give Colon a second, more ordinary geographic identity.