December 2015 - Lost In Michigan

The Marlette District Library – Michigan Historical Marker

Posted on December 30, 2015 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Library, Michigan Historical Markers .

In 1914 the Marlette Research Club composed of women in the community decided to build a public library for Marlette. The club contacted the Carnegie Corporation for a grant to build the library. In compliance with the Carnegie Corporation’s rules, Marlette raised funds and instituted a quarter-mill tax for maintenance of the library. In 1918 the Carnegie Corporation agreed to fund the Research Club’s library project. The simple brick building was constructed in 1921. The building has a hipped roof and a portico of classical design. The library was the last in the Midwest to receive a Carnegie library grant and the second to the last to do so in the country. The Marlette District Library is one of fifty-three Michigan libraries funded by the Carnegie Corporation.

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Wall Calendar Giveaway

Posted on December 27, 2015 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in calendars .

I am giving away a Lost In Michigan wall calendar on my facebook page, if you want a chance to win it you can enter here https://www.facebook.com/LostInMichigan.net/

I have a few Lost In Michigan Calendars left, the Michigan Barn calendars are sold out and I am down to about 5 Forgotten Michigan calendars if you want to order one they are available here https://lostinmichigan.net/shop/

Pioneer Bank in North Branch

Posted on December 22, 2015 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Michigan Historical Markers .

Pioneer Bank was founded in 1885 as a state bank, and reorganized in 1889. President Frederick Howard, Vice President Albert Sholes and Cashier Charles W. Ballard were bank officers. In !903 this lot was purchased from Sholes, and soon after the board selected Bay City architects Clark & Munger to design new offices. A bank was partially constructed, but it burned before completion. The present classical-inspired structure replaced the original and opened in 1906. In 1982 the bank was listed in the National Registed of Historic Places.

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The Italian Hall in Calumet – Michigan Historical Marker

Posted on December 22, 2015 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Historic Places, Michigan Historical Markers .

On December 24, 1913, area copper miners had been on strike for five months. The miners were fighting for better pay, shortened work days, safer working conditions and union recognition. That day, during a yuletide party for the striking miners and their families, someone yelled, “Fire!” Although there was no fire, seventy-three person died while attempting to escape down a stairwell that had doors that opened inward. Over half of those who died were children between the ages of six and ten. The perpetrator of the tragedy was never identified. The strike ended in April 1914.

The Italian Hall was built in 1908 as headquarters for Calumet’s benevolent society. The Society, organized along ethnic lines, encouraged and financially aided immigrants and provided relief to victims of hardship. Following the 1913 Christmas Eve tragedy, the hall continued to be used for nearly five decades. The two-story red brick building was razed in 1984. Through the efforts of the Friends of the Italian Hall and Local 324 of the AFL-CIO, the site of the building became a memorial park dedicated ot the people who lost their lives in 1903.

an Historic Photo of the hall I found in the Public Domain, you can see the doorway that remains as a memorial on the left side of the building.

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Lost In Michigan Calendars $5 off and FREE Shipping.

Posted on December 20, 2015 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Uncategorized .

Lost In Michigan calendars are $5 off and FREE shipping today.

the Michigan Barn calendar is sold out, and I only have a few Forgotten Michigan calendars left. if you want one before they are gone you can get them HERE

The Old Kilmanagh General Store Now and Then

Posted on December 10, 2015 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Forgotten Places .

Roaming the back roads of Michigan i find all sorts of interesting places like this old General Store in Kilmanagh that looks like it right out of an old western movie set. One day while roaming the world wide web i cam across and photo of a familiar looking building then I realized it was the old General store in Kilmanagh. the caption for the photo said it was the Woldt Brothers general store, other than that, it’s all I know about it and that the building has aged a lot but the road looks better.

Here is a link to the original photo and a map pf Kilmanagh

Kilmanagh near Bayport in the Thumb was first called Thompson’s Corners, for Francis Thompson, an Irish homesteader who arrived in 1861. The name Kilmanagh was first used to describe the nearby Shebeon Creek, which would overflow each spring. A post office named Kilmanagh operated from February 1873 until June 1904

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Real Castles in Michigan that are better than a Fairy Tale

Posted on December 8, 2015 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Historic Places .

Traveling around Michigan I find a plethora of interesting places and over the past few years I have seen some beautiful and historic castles. here is a list of the ones I have found in my travels.

Saginaw’s Castle Museum

originally built as a post office, it now serves as a museum for the Saginaw Historical Society. check out my post HERE for more about the building

The Castle Museum in Downtown Saginaw

The Hecker Castle

This beautiful french renaissance castle on Woodward Ave designed by Louis Kamper was the home of railroad and ship-building baron Col. Frank J. Hecker, you can read more about it HERE

The Hecker Castle in Detroit

Dickinson County Jail

The Jail In Iron Mountain is a two-story structure built of red brick and sandstone, capped with stone battlemented parapets and a tin roof. It originally contained 36 cells, along with the sheriff’s quarters

Dickinson County Jail in Iron Mountain

Grand Rapids Castle House

this castle-like house was constructed in 1884-86 for lumber barons Colonel E. Crofton Fox and his brother Charles, you can find out more HERE

Grand Rapids Castle House

State Prison in Jackson

the walls surrounding the first state prison in Jackson look like they belong around a mid evil castle, the prison is no longer operational, you can read more HERE

The Old State Prison in Jackson

8th Precinct Police Station

The former Eighth Precinct Police Station is the second-oldest police building in Detroit.It was designed by Louis Kamper and built between 1900 and 1901. you can read more HERE

8th Precinct Police Station in Detroit

Curwood Castle

Built in 1922, by James Oliver Curwood as his writing studio, and a number of his later works were composed in the tower, overlooking the Shiawassee River. you can find out more HERE

Curwood Castle in Owosso

Henderson Castle

The Queen Anne style house was designed by C. A. Gombert of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The $72,000 building costs included seven baths (one with a thirteen-head shower), an elevator, and a third-floor ballroom. The castle’s exterior was constructed of Lake Superior sandstone and brick, and the interior wood included mahogany, bird’s eye maple, quartered oak, birch, and American sycamore. The castle was built with 25 rooms in all and exemplified the most expensive tastes of the time. it is now a bed and breakfast.

Henderson Castle in Kalamazoo

Upper Peninsula Brewing Co. Office

The Upper Peninsula Brewing Company Building is an office building located at the intersection of Meeske Street and US 41 in Marquette, Michigan. It is also known as the Charles Meeske House. you can read more HERE

Upper Peninsula Brewing Co. Office

Elm Lawn Cemetery Gate

The entrance to the Historic Cemetery in Bay City is more of a gate then a castle, but it looks like one to me, so I added it to the list.

Elm Lawn Cemetery Gate in Bay City

The James Scott Residence

This is the James Scott residence on the comer of Peterboro and Park in the Midtown District and it was built in 1887. you can read more HERE

The James Scott Residence

The Penniman Castle

The Penniman Castle of Battle Creek was built in 1906, you can read more HERE

Frankfort Castle House

I could not find any info about the house in Frankfort but I had to include it on the list

Frankfort Castle house

Deer Acres

On M13 in Pinconning it’s probably not much of a castle, but it seemed like one to me when I visted it as a kid in the 70’s

Deer Acres on M13 in Pinconning

The Castle House in Manchester

It’s not your typical looking house. I searched google and the only thing I found was a photo of a postcard on Flickr circa 1910 and that it was built by A.J. Wright, other than that I could not find anything else.

The Castle House in Manchester

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The Historic Manistee Fire Hall – Michigan Historical Marker

Posted on December 6, 2015 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Fire Houses .

In early October 1888, the Manistee City Council hired Frederick Hollister of Saginaw, the architect of Manistee’s principle school, to design a fire hall to replace the original station, which was constructed in 1872 – 1873 on Filer Street. Later that month the Manistee Democrat predicted that the city’s new fire hall would be “a model of convenience and usefulness.” Constructed of brick, cut-stone and French plate glass and trimmed with galvanized iron, this Romanesque Revival-style building was constructed by the local firm of Brownrigg and Reynolds at a cost of $7,516. The dome is covered with copper. The hall opened in June 1889 when Manistee’s first “fire truck,” a horse-drawn steam engine, was brought from the original hall. It is the oldest continually operated fire station in Michigan

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The Old State Prison in Jackson

Posted on December 1, 2015 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Michigan Historical Markers .

The first state prison opened in 1838 near Jackson and started with a temporary wooden prison. In 1839 the first 35 prisoners were received. It started with three log cabins, and walls built with huge wide logs, almost like a fur traders post and 7 of the original 35 prisoners escaped over the walls. Then two years after it opened, on a foggy night June 1, 1840, 10 of the 85 inmates dug their way out of the cabins and escaped. The fugitives terrorized the community, robbing banks and becoming known as the Jackson Robber Gang. It took two years to finally capture eight of them

In 1861 the west end of the prison complex was completed to house prisoners of the civil war and it was quickly overcrowded. John Morris, the warden from 1870 to 1875, was prosecuted for his brutality to prisoners. The assistant warden, 33 inmates, firefighters, doctors and seemingly anyone else involved in prison life testified at his trial. Morris had a wonderful demeanor to the outside world, but inside the prison, he became a monster. Morris once had a prisoner whipped 63 times. Another, who had suffered an injury to an arm during the Civil War, was tied against a wall with wet leather bands at the wrists and ankles. By the time the bands had dried and the man was untied, his arm was so severely injured it had to be amputated.

Beginning in the 1880’s under Warden H. F. Hatch a greater emphasis was placed on education and rehabilitation of prisoners.Female prisoners were at the Michigan State Prison with the men up until 1882. Sarah Havilland poisoned her own children because she couldn’t feed them. Yet inside the prison she became the much beloved caregiver to the warden’s children, who at the time lived onsite. By 1882, it was the largest walled prison in the world and a quarter the size of Jackson in terms of population.

On September 1, 1912, a riot that is described by many as the worst riot in the prison’s history began. The first sign of trouble was when inmates starting throwing plates against the walls of the dining halls. Many fights followed after this and the riot lasted for six days. On the sixth day, the 90 or so inmates that were leading the riot were beaten and the riot eventually came to an end, but not until after the governor had called in the National Guard.

In 1928, construction of a new prison north of Jackson began and the inmates were moved to the new facility. the old prison was closed in 1934 and at the time there were 3,840 prisoners which were too many for the facility to handle, despite the many additional cell blocks that were added through the years.

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