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 – Michigan Historical Marker

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

Pioneer Bank was founded in 1885 as a state bank, and reorginized 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.

if you like what I do then I hope you will check out my Calendars, they help me do what I do and they are printed right here in Michigan. you can order them here https://lostinmichigan.net/shop/

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 Thompson Home in Detroit – Michigan Historical Marker

Posted on December 17, 2015 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Houses .

David Thompson, a wealthy Detroit businessman, died in the early 1870s, leaving his estate to his wife Mary with instructions to establish a charitable institution. In 1874, Mary Thompson allocated $10,000 to build a home for aged women. However, construction did not start until nearly ten years later when land was purchased and Mary commissioned George D. Mason of the firm Mason & Rice to design the home.

Mason designed a four-story home measuring 60 by 90 feet with private rooms for forty women. For a number of years, the Thompson Home was a prestigious retirement home for wealthy widows. Sun rooms were added to the original structure in 1914, living quarters for the staff were added in the 1950s, and a five-bed infirmary was constructed in 1964. However, the number of residents declined in the 1960s and 1970s, and the home closed in 1977. Wayne State University bought the building and remodeled it, and in 1980 WSU’s School of Social Work was installed in the building.

if you like what I do then I hope you will check out my Calendars, they help me do what I do and they are printed right here in Michigan. you can order them here https://lostinmichigan.net/shop/

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

if you like what I do then I hope you will check out my Calendars, they help me do what I do and they are printed right here in Michigan. you can order them here https://lostinmichigan.net/shop/

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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Michigan’s Beautiful Woolsey Memorial Airport And the Tragedy that Created It.

Posted on December 3, 2015 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Historic Places .

Traveling up to the Grand Traverse Lighthouse at the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula near Northport I passed by the beautiful little Clinton F Woolsey memorial airport. It’s hard to miss the fascinating stone building with a black and yellow roof next to the road.

Clinton F. Woolsey was born in 1894 in Northport and grew up on his family farm, He took great interest in anything mechanical and after finishing school in Northport he studied engineering at Valparaiso University in Indiana. After college He enlisted in the military eventually becoming a test pilot. While in the military he trained pilots and one of his students was Charles a Lindbergh ( think you know who he is) Interestingly Clinton was working on a plane he nicknamed the “Woolsey Bomber” and planing to be the first to fly non stop over the Atlantic ocean, but was called into duty for the Pan-American Goodwill Flight of 1926- 1927.

Capt Clinton F Wolsey (left) and co-pilot Leut. J. W. Benton with their amphibious planed the “Detroit” which crashed Feb 26th 1927

He oversaw the construction and testing of the five Loening OA-1 amphibian observation planes to be used on the tour. Tragically he was killed on the tour when his plane collided with another plane in the clouds on February 26^th 1927 in Buenos Aries. After the collision co-plot John W. Benton climbed out onto the wing without a parachute to try to lower the damaged landing gear. Captain Woolsey could have probably parachuted to safety but chose to pilot the plane with Benton on the wing. Without being able to lower the landing gear the plane crashed and both men were killed. “I have never witnessed a more courageous sacrifice,” said Capt. Ira Eaker, who witnessed the crash from his plane.

In 1934, during the Great Depression, Capt. Woolsey’s 85-year-old father Byron Woolsey wanted to ensure that Clinton would always be remembered. He donated 80 acres of his land to Leelanau Township on the condition it be used as an airport in honor of his son. The township added another 120 acres. A Works Progress Administration crew converted the farm, as part of a “New Deal” public works project, into a long grassy runway and expanded Woolsey’s creamery/milk transfer station into a terminal. The Northport Woman’s Club donated a bronze plaque honoring Capt. Woolsey, which was placed on a large boulder near the terminal.

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