The town of Deward northwest of Grayling had one of the largest sawmills in Michigan. The town was started in 1900 and named in honor of lumber baron David E. Ward. At one time it had a population of 800 people. It had a ferocious appetite for timber and after all the standing timber was
This brick three-story house sits along the St Joeseph river in Three Rivers Michigan. It was built by Arthur Silman. He had a blacksmith shop on the first floor and his family lived above on the upper floors. In 1903 he deeded the home to his daughter, Sue Silliman. She was a librarian and state
I was heading out of Jackson when down the road I saw this Standard Oil Sign. When I drove up to it, I saw the little service station with the old pump. It made me smile and I had to stop and take a photo. It reminds me of being a kid riding in my
Driving north from the Upper Peninsula town of L’Anse along the Keweenaw bay it is hard to miss the water tower in Pequaming. Unlike most water towers that have the name of the town painted on it the one in Pequaming has the word FORD in the iconic font used by the Ford Motor Company.
If you want to take a road trip around the Great Lakes State to visit some haunted and historic places I put together a list of locations I have visited. I think you will find them fascinating and a little spooky. If you chose to visit remember some of the places are privately owned and
The Huron Lightship was commissioned in 1921 and retired in 1970 after years of faithful service on Lake Huron illuminating the way for ships at the mouth of the St Clair River. She is permanently moored in Port Huron and serves as a museum. P.S. If you are wondering, I had to turn on the
In a quiet rural cemetery southeast of Fife Lake in Springfield Township’s Clark Cemetery are tombstones for Gertrude and John Murphy. What is not carved into Gertrude’s marker is the name and death of her three month old baby that she is holding in her arms when she was buried. Ruth Murphy was being watched
It has been a while since I posted a pic from my hometown of Saginaw. I thought I would share this from my Pure Saginaw website since this story fascinates me. Work crews are in the process of tearing down the old parking ramp next to the former Jacobson’s building in downtown Saginaw. They have
This steam locomotive sits in R.A. Greene Park in Jackson. The Grand Trunk Western 5030 was built in 1912 and proudly pulled train cars along Michigan’s railroad tracks for years. On June 5th, 1923 A train was commissioned to take the Knights Templars of Michigan to a Masonic convention in Flint. The 5030 picked up
If you have ever driven up to the Whitefish Point Lighthouse you have passed this old building. The historical marker in front of it reads. This post office opened just six years after Whitefish Point was settled in 1871 as a landing for the then abundant supplies and as a commercial fishery. Permanent residents received
