August 2019 - Page 2 of 2 - Lost In Michigan

The Old Mill School

Posted on August 5, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Schools .

Between Romeo and New Haven is this old white schoolhouse in Ray Township. In 1863 Ray area farmers built what became known popularly as Mill School. Kindergarten through eighth grade students attended here until 1953. That year the school district consolidated with Romeo School District and it transferred the property to the township. Elections and community meetings were held in the building for many years. In 1983 the simple Greek Revival-style School became the Ray Township Library.

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The Old Chruch in Frankfort

Posted on August 4, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Churches .

Standing among the historic homes in Frankfort is this beautiful old historic white church. In 1871 the members of First Congregational Church of Frankfort built this church with its eighty-seven-foot-high steeple on land donated by the Frankfort Land Company. The company’s manager, Eugene B. Frost, was a charter member of the church. Donations from Frankfort residents and a loan from the Congregational Church Building Society financed the $5,000 building cost. The church completed the rear addition, built to house offices and Sunday school classrooms, in 1960.

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The Whaley House

Posted on August 3, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Houses .

Not far from downtown Flint is the ornate brick house. The historical marker standing in front of it gives some of its history.

The central portion of this handsome Victorian home was built in the late 1850s. Several prominent Flint families lived in it before Robert J. Whaley purchased it in 1884. Whaley a local lumberman and banker, remodeled the house extensively. Three bays, the library alcove and a west-end addition were among the exterior changes. The interior was enhanced by adding ornate woodwork and colorful tiled fireplaces. In 1925, Whaley’s wife endowed the house, making it a home for elderly women. In 1975 it became a public museum.

Robert J. Whaley was born in Castile, New York, in 1840. He moved to Wisconsin with his family in the 1840s, then returned to New York. There he met and married Mary McFarlan of Flint. Whaley and his bride moved to Flint in 1867. Here, he joined his father-in-law in lumbering and later banking. He purchased this gracious structure in 1884. Serving as president of Flint’s Citizens Bank for forty-one years, Whaley was also a trustee for the Michigan Charitable Schools, a Mason, an Elk and a 1912 Democratic candidate for state treasurer. He died in 1922.

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The Timber’s Armour Barn

Posted on August 2, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Barns and Farms .

In the Timbers Recreation Area on North Long Lake Road about 10 miles west of Traverse City sits this beautiful old brown barn. The area’s approximately 240 acres are open to hikers, but it once belonged to a family that owned one of America’s iconic brands.

The Timbers was a resort on Long Lake when Lola Armour vacationed there in 1919 and fell in love with the property. She and her husband J. Ogden Armour, owner of the Armour Meat Packing Company, purchased it that summer. They removed many of the original buildings and constructed a mansion, a lodge, a dormitory, cottages for the superintendent, chauffeur and secretary, two barns, and a boathouse on the lake.

J. Ogden Armour died in 1927, but Lola kept the property until 1945 when she sold the property because she was no longer able to travel to it. Eventually, the property was sold in sections with the home being sold off and The Girl Scouts purchasing 238 acres in 1962, which became the Timbers Girl Scout Camp.

Recently the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy and Long Lake Township purchased the property for public use. Hiking trails throughout the property meander through the forests and fields, and along the old barn and some building from the former estate. The mansion and adjacent property are still privately owned and closed to the public.

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The Haunted Wedding Cake House

Posted on August 1, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Haunted Places, Houses .

One of the first posts I did when I started Lost In Michigan was the Richard C. Burtis house in Watrouseville. It is affectionately called the “Wedding Cake House” by the locals. I never knew this house existed I was just out roaming the back roads in the thumb and came upon it. My discovery has inspired me to keep traveling the back roads looking for other interesting places.

The house was built in1879 for Richard C. Burtis, a shoemaker and one of the area’s most prominent landowners. He built the house as a gift for his wife. The current owners have been working to restore the old house. They have said strange things have been happening in the home since they have lived in it. The house will be featured on an upcoming episode of a Travel Channel show called the Ghost Brothers. You can find out more about the house on their facebook page HERE

Please note the house is not abandoned so please do not trespass

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