Michigan Historical Markers – Page 2

The Voigt House

Posted on February 25, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Houses, Michigan Historical Markers .

This elegant and perfectly preserved Victorian mansion was built for Carl G. A. Voigt in 1895. Voigt came to Grand Rapids in 1870 and ran a mill and dry goods store with W. G. Herpolsheimer. In 1902, when the partnership ended, Voigt took over the milling works. The house designed by eminent local architect William G. Robinson, was inspired by the chateaux at Chenonceaux, France. The interior is furnished opulently with original possessions of the Voigt Family. In 1972, a year after the death of the last occupant, Ralph Voigt, the house became a public museum.

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The Bay View Inn

Posted on January 11, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Historic Places, Michigan Historical Markers .

I have driven past Stafford’s Bay View Inn near the lake in Petoskey many times. I finally stopped and got a pic and read the historical marker which reads:

J. W. Howard completed this spacious inn in 1887, naming it the Woodland Avenue House because of its proximity to that street. Later he called the hotel the Howard House. In 1923 the popular resort became the Roselawn in honor of Horace Rose, innkeeper at that time. Renamed the Bay View Inn, this building is now Stafford’s Bay View Inn and is one of the oldest seasonal hotels in continuous operation in the area. Carved out of deeded railroad property next to the village of Petoskey in 1875, the summer colony of Bay View began as a religious retreat. Then it became a cultural and educational center complete with a college and Chautauqua series. This inn is a center of hospitality in the swirl of local summer activities.

One of these days I am going to have dinner at the historic Inn. If you have ever eaten or stayed there let me know in the comments.

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The Bridge in Fallasburg

Posted on November 4, 2018 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Bridges, Michigan Historical Markers .

I was hanging out with these Canadian geese admiring the Fallasburg covered bridge. It’s a true piece of Michigan history that you can experience. I wonder what it would be like to ride across it in a horse and wagon. The Historical marker next to the bridge reads:

John W. and Silas S. Fallas settled here in 1837, founded a village which soon boasted a chair factory, sawmill, and gristmill. About 1840 the first of several wooden bridges was placed across the Flat River, but all succumbed in a short time to high water and massive spring ice jams. Bridge builder Jared N. Bresee of Ada was given a contract in 1871 to build the present structure. Constructed at a cost of $1500, the bridge has lattice work trusses made of white pine timbers. As in all covered bridges, the roof and siding serve to protect the bridge timbers from rot. Repairs in 1905 and 1945 have kept the bridge safe for traffic for one hundred years

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The South Haven Scott Club

Posted on April 29, 2018 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Historic Places, Michigan Historical Markers .

I was leaving South Haven, headed to Holland, and I passed this beautiful stone building. I thought to myself, that’s a beautiful but strange looking church. I circled back around and to take a photo and then I saw the historical marker on the side. I found out it wasn’t a church after all, but a temple to books. The marker read

This federated women’s club, founded as a reading circle in 1883 and named for Sir Walter Scott, merged with the Literary and Antiquarian Societies to build a clubhouse in 1892. John Cornelius Randall designed the sandstone Queen Anne structure, built by local artisans and completed in 1893. Two stained glass windows created in Austria portray Sir Walter Scott and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. This building has been in continuous use by the Scott Club as a cultural center providing fellowship for women of the area.

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The Historic St Mary Stone Church

Posted on March 11, 2018 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Churches, Michigan Historical Markers .

I love buildings and houses built with fieldstones. I think they are a reflection of the area since many of the stones are collected from the area and this beautiful old church in Manchester is no exception. A historic marker giving its history stands in front of it and reads:

The first Catholic church in the Manchester area was built by German settlers in Freedom Township in 1839 and dedicated to Saint Francis de Borgia. In 1863 Father Edward Van Lauwe was appointed pastor of Saint Dominic in Clinton, and Manchester was one of his missions. In 1870 thirty-five Irish families built the Church of the Assumption on Macomb Street in Manchester. Father Edwin Fisher, pastor of Clinton and its missions, became the resident pastor in Manchester if 1909. In 1911 local craftsmen built this Neo-Gothic inspired church from fieldstones collected by farmers and salvaged from the foundation of the hotel that had stood on the site. It was dedicated in January 1912. Father Fisher designed the church and erected similar fieldstone churches at his missions in Blissfield, Tecumseh, and Brooklyn.

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The Sanitarium

Posted on February 21, 2018 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Iconic Buildings, Michigan Historical Markers .

I remember back in the 90s watching a trailer for a movie called The Road To Wellville with Anthony Hopkins and Matthew Broderick or as I call him Ferris Bueller. I thought sure seems like a strange looking move and plot. Later I found out it was based on John Harvey Kellogg and his “unique” way of treating patients. I figured since I was in Battle Creek I had to stop and see the old Sanitarium. There is a historical marker in front of it that reads.

The Battle Creek Sanitarium opened in 1866 as the Western Health Reform Institute. The institute was founded on the health principles advocated by the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. In 1876, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg became the medical superintendent at the sanitarium. Kellogg’s many innovations included the use of radiation therapy for cancer patients and the invention of flaked cereal. The sanitarium burned in 1902; the following year a six-story Italian Renaissance Revival-style building, designed by Dayton, Ohio, architect Frank M. Andrews, was constructed. Kellogg’s brother W. K. Kellogg worked at the sanitarium for twenty-six years before leaving to establish the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flakes Company. The Battle Creek Sanitarium is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In 1928 the Battle Creek Sanitarium was enlarged with a fourteen-story “towers” addition and dining room annex designed by M. J. Morehouse of Chicago. After the stock market crashed in 1929, business declined; the facility went into receivership in 1933. The sanitarium continued to occupy the site until 1942 when the U. S. Army purchased the buildings and established the Percy Jones General Hospital, named for an army surgeon whose thirty-year career included commanding ambulance units during World War I. The hospital specialized in neurosurgery, plastic surgery and the fitting of artificial limbs. Approximately 100,000 military patients were treated at the hospital before it closed permanently in 1953. In 1954 the building became the Battle Creek Federal Center.

In 2003, the building was re-dedicated as the Hart-Dole-Inouye Federal Center in honor of three U.S. Senators who had met as wounded servicemen while they were being treated at the hospital during WWII: Philip Hart of Michigan, who had been wounded during the Normandy Landings at Utah Beach on D-Day, Bob Dole of Kansas, who was wounded in combat over Italy, and Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, who had been wounded while engaged in combat in Italy.

P.S. I still have not watched The Road To Wellville since it looked strange but maybe I should. I am sure I can find it on VHS somewhere.

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The Most Beautiful House In Michigan

Posted on February 16, 2018 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Houses, Michigan Historical Markers .

About 20 years ago I drove past this ornate house near downtown Muskegon and I thought to myself, this is the most beautiful house I have ever seen. In the years since I have seen many other breathtaking houses in Michigan but the Hackley house is still at the top of my list. I am not sure why it’s taken me so long to go back and see it but I finally did and it still is an amazing home.

Charles Hackley moved to Michigan with his father and began working as a laborer in the sawmills. He worked his way up to become bookkeeper at the mill and then he partnered with Thomas Hume to create a successful lumbering company. In 1887 he built this stunning Queen Anne style home in Muskegon. To keep his family warm in the winter the house has seven fireplaces. It’s really hard to capture the detail of the woodwork along with its ornate 13 color paint scheme. This is one of those places that you have to see for yourself. You can learn more about the house and find out when it’s open for tours HERE

P.S. There is a rumor that Charles Hackley has ties to the Confederate gold moved after the end of the Civil War. The myth is that it was loaded on a train car and then pushed into Lake Michigan off a car ferry in a storm. I am not sure how true the story is but the History Channel is doing a show about it in March of 2018.

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Reward Road Number 1

Posted on February 13, 2018 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Michigan Historical Markers .

East of Cass City on M81 next to the cemetery is a roadside park with a Michigan Historical Marker. There is also an old stone maker in the park and both of them recall the first mile of improved road funded by the state. The sign in the park reads:

The state highway system began with the State Reward Road program, created by the Michigan Legislature in 1905. The program provided “rewards” to local governments for road improvements made according to state standards. Horatio “Good Roads” Earle, the state highway commissioner, traveled the state drumming up interest in road improvements. Elkland Township was the first municipality to receive a reward. Spending $985, the township widened (to nine feet) and graveled one mile of rutted wagon road (Later M-81) between the corner of Elkland Cemetery and what became Crawford Road. The township then received a $500 reward. State Reward Road No. 1 marked the beginning of state aid for local roads.

I thought it was interesting the little town of Cass City was the first to take advantage of the state program to improve the roads. I imagine the farmers in the area must have been thrilled to have a decent road to get to town on. I think even before there were cars Michiganders complained about the roads.

P.S. I will be in Cass City at Rawson Memorial Library 6495 Pine St Monday, February 19, 2018 at 2:00 pm giving a presentation about my travels around Michigan, If you are in the area I hope you can stop by.

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Shiawassee County Courthouse – Michigan Historical Marker

Posted on February 9, 2018 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Michigan Historical Markers .

I was born and raised in Saginaw and still live there today. The courthouse that stood in front of the current one in Saginaw was demolished about 10 years before I was born. I have seen photos of it and it was a magnificent ornate building adorned with statues of justice. It’s always bothered me that the courthouse was torn down and traveling around Michigan I still see many old Courthouses and wished the one in Saginaw would have been saved.

I love this old courthouse in Corunna with its white Columns. There is a Michigan Historical Marker in front of it that reads:

Territorial Governor Lewis Cass established Shiawassee County in 1822, but as there were few white settlers in the area, its government was not organized until 1837. Two years later, the county commissioners designated this site in the village of Corunna as the public square. County offices occupied temporary facilities here until 1851, when a brick courthouse was built. It was replaced in 1903-4 by the present structure, designed by Claire Allen and costing $75,000. The cornerstone was laid on May 4, 1904, before the largest gathering in the county’s history. The courthouse, with its elegant clock tower and columned facade, still houses most of the major county offices.

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The Historic Saint Bernard in Alpena

Posted on February 5, 2018 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Churches, Michigan Historical Markers .

I am always fascinated by the big old churches in towns and cities in Michigan. This beautiful brick church caught my eye in Alpena. The historical marker next to it reads:

In 1861, Bishop Frederic Baraga (1797-1868) trod through snow and icy waters from Sault Ste. Marie to Alpena where he founded a Catholic church. However, it was not until 1888 that Father Patrick Murray became the first resident pastor of the church dedicated to and named for St. Bernard. Father Murray was instrumental in the building of the first church structure, which was located almost directly opposite the current edifice. The foundation of this stone structure was laid in 1880. Three years later the church split into three parishes. The French parish, which kept the original structure became St. Anne; the Polish became St. Mary, and the Irish retained the St. Bernard name and records. This structure, completed by the Irish in 1884, houses the oldest Catholic parish between Bay City and Cheboygan.

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