August 2019 - Page 2 of 2 - Lost In Michigan

A Haunting on Blood Road

Posted on August 14, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Haunted Places .

Heading home from Detroit on 75, the expressway suddenly became a parking lot, and I hate sitting in traffic, so I got off and headed north on M24. I somehow ended up going down Blood Road near Metamora, I remember reading about it being haunted in the book Weird Michigan. Searching Google I found several rumors and legends of witchcraft and satanic worship, it is said that during the witch trials people migrated to the area in the 1600’s, there is also a story about a man that murdered his wife and the body was dumped into the swamp and at night the swamp turns red. Urban legend has I that if you drive down the road at night the branches of the trees fall behind you and the road will turn red. But the most logical thing I found was someone said the road has a lot of clay in it, and when it rains the road turns red, and the puddles look like blood. Of course, everything I found was on the internets, so it has to be true. Besides who doesn’t love a good urban myth, and the road is named Blood Road.

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Presque Isle Lodge

Posted on August 13, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Iconic Buildings .

Lumberman Newell A. Eddy, Sr.and his wife Marianna purchased the land around where the Lodge sits for their personal recreational use. The land was purchased in several transactions from 1908 to 1913. With the Construction of US-23 tourists began visiting the area. The Eddy’s son, Newell A. Eddy Jr. who also vacationed at the property constructed a lodge in 1920. Eddy also built the knotty pine furniture within the Lodge, with the help of area craftsmen. After the opening of the Lodge, Eddy established the “Habitant Shops of Presque Isle Lodge,” which constructed similar furniture for guests. The shop first operated from the Presque Isle Lodge property, but by 1922 had moved to Bay City.

Newell A. Eddy Jr. died in 1940 and his family sold the Lodge in 1944. The lodge, placed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2008. It is an example of rustic architecture popular in Michigan in the first half of the twentieth century. During this time Michigans lumber industry became a leading manufacturer of rustic-styled, board-and-batten siding, and rough-hewn logs. The historic lodge still operates to this day.

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The Upper Peninsula Pickle Barrel House

Posted on August 11, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Houses, upper peninsula .

Eccentric people have built interesting looking houses around the county and this Upper Peninsula house is one of the most unique. In downtown Grand Marais is a giant barrel with a long and fascinating history. The Pioneer Cooperage Company of Chicago designed this small vacation cottage, which stood on the shores of nearby Sable Lake from 1926 until about 1937. It was built for William Donahey, creator of the Chicago Tribune cartoon story The Teenie Weenies. The house was constructed as a typical barrel would have been, only on a much larger scale. The main barrel contained a living area on the first floor and a bedroom on the second. A pantry connected this barrel to a smaller single-story one, which housed a kitchen. Donahey spent ten summers at the cottage with his wife, Mary, herself a noted author of children’s books. The structure was then moved to its current site and used as a tourist information center.

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Onaway Barn and Book Winner

Posted on August 8, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Barns and Farms .

I like this old barn I saw somewhere near Onaway. I figure it’s an old barn since it has a stone foundation. I wish I had a story to go with it but I don’t, so I figure now is a good time to announce the winner of the Lost In Michigan Vol 2 book giveaway. Congratulations to Jason Smith he was chosen at random from the comments. Please email me at mike@huronphoto.com with your address and I will send out your book.

Thank you to everyone who commented. I wish I could send you all a book but If you want to purchase one they are ON SALE for a few more days on my website HERE or from Amazon HERE

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A Miracle at Peterboro and Park

Posted on August 7, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in castles, Detroit .

In Midtown Detroit on the corner of Peterboro And Park is the old James Scott mansion. The transformation that has occurred is nothing short of miraculous. It was not divine intervention that restored this historic old building, but good old fashioned hard work and money. If you want to see what it looked like before check out my post about it a couple of years ago HERE

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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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