Along the sheltered waters of Big Bay de Noc, where limestone cliffs rise above a quiet harbor, Fayette Historic State Park feels a little removed from time. For Aaron Thill, that sense of place isn’t just something he helps preserve—it’s something he’s lived his entire life.
Thill didn’t set out with a long-term plan to manage one of Michigan’s most distinctive historic parks. Like many careers that ultimately feel inevitable, he began with something far simpler: a summer job close to home.
“I really wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do,” Thill recalls. “So I applied to Fayette for a summer job. It was close to home and 40 hours a week, so it was a good opportunity.”
That opportunity—one he stepped into fresh out of high school—has grown into a decades-long career at Fayette Historic State Park. Today, Thill serves as park supervisor, a role he officially assumed in summer 2025 after nearly 30 years of working his way through the ranks.
“I've been at Fayette since the summer of 1995,” he says. “I just worked my way up through the system.”
That steady progression reflects both his work ethic and the nature of the park itself. Thill started “at the very bottom of the chain,” first working with what was then the Michigan Civilian Conservation Corps program. He moved into seasonal roles, returned in 1998 as a ranger, and later advanced to lead worker in 2003.
That depth of experience shapes how he views the job today—not as a single role, but as an ever-shifting mix of responsibilities tied closely to the seasons.
“It’s an interesting job because it’s so broad,” he says. “You could be cleaning bathrooms one day. You could be on patrol another day.”
At Fayette, that variety isn’t just part of the job; it’s essential. Summer brings the busiest stretch, with Thill focused on managing staff, overseeing revenue, and keeping operations running smoothly. In the quieter shoulder seasons, the work turns physical and preservation-focused, as crews prepare the historic townsite to weather another year along the lakeshore.
“In the spring and the fall, you're doing a lot of maintenance on the buildings,” he explains. “Especially here being in a historic state park, there's a lot of upkeep.”
That work is critical in a place like Fayette, where the historic townsite—once a bustling 19th-century iron smelting community—still stands against the elements. Its survival, Thill points out, was never part of the original plan.
“They never built it to last until 2026,” he says. “They were a company town—come in, make money, and get out.”
And yet, against those odds, the site endures. For visitors, that endurance translates into an experience that feels immersive and unexpectedly personal—where weathered buildings, open doorways, and quiet pathways hint at daily life from more than a century ago.
“It’s in pretty good shape,” Thill says. “It’s one of the nicer historical locations where you can kind of get a feel of what it was like back then.”
That sense of authenticity is part of what keeps people coming back…and sometimes encourages them to keep Fayette a carefully guarded secret.
“We get a lot of visitors, especially for the first time, and they can't believe they never heard of the place,” he says. Boaters, in particular, tend to be protective. “They'll be like, ‘we don't tell our friends where we're going because we want to keep it our own little secret.’”
For Thill, those reactions reinforce what he’s long understood: Fayette isn’t just a park—it’s a place that stays with people.
That connection runs deeper than the visitor experience alone. It’s also rooted in the generations of families tied to the site, many of whom still return to work there, carrying stories and knowledge forward.
“You take a little bit of pride in the historic part of it, and you kind of learn the ins and outs of the history,” he says.
That continuity is strengthened through the park’s partnership with the Michigan History Center, which supports interpretation, archives, and historical research.
“If somebody has a deep history question… there’s files of stuff like that on family members,” Thill notes.
The rhythms of the park reflect that same sense of continuity. Summer brings the largest crowds, with the 61-site campground often full from June through September. Fall softens into color and quiet, while winter—though slower—still includes moments of activity, like a lantern-lit ski event winding through the dark.
By spring, the cycle begins again, as the park shakes off winter and prepares to welcome visitors back.
It’s a pattern Thill has seen repeat for decades, yet it hasn’t lost its appeal. The variety and unpredictability, he suggests, are part of what have kept him rooted at Fayette all these years.
Even the park’s rumored ghosts don’t distract from that grounded perspective.
“I personally don’t think so,” he says when asked if the park is haunted, “but you can talk to other staff members and they might tell you differently.”
Whether visitors come for history, mystery, or simply a quiet day along the water, Thill offers the same advice: take your time.
“You can definitely spend the whole day,” he says—reminding visitors that Fayette isn’t something to rush, but something to experience piece by piece, much like the career that brought him there in the first place.