January 2020 - Page 2 of 3 - Lost In Michigan

Reynolds Schoolhouse

Posted on January 21, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Schools .

I saw this old wooden building somewhere near Dundee. I figured it looked like an old schoolhouse with a light fixture above the door. Unfortunately, a sign was no longer attached to the wall for the light bulb to illuminate. I did a little research and I think it was the Reynolds Fractional School. If you are wondering like I was, a fractional school is one that teaches students from more than one township. Even though this old schoolhouse no longer has students learning inside its walls. It is still around to teach this old dude a few new things.

P.S. Even though it has a no trespassing sign on the front of it. I still do not trespass sign or not. I enjoy looking at them from the road. If you see an old house or building I hope you will respect the owners, even if the owner may be the taxpayers of that community.

Find Interesting locations throughout the Mitten State with a Lost In Michigan book Available on Amazon by clicking HERE

Thank you for Subscribing to Lost In Michigan, If you have not subscribed yet, It would mean a lot to me if you did.

La Rue House

Posted on January 20, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Houses .

I saw this old house in Elberta on the world famous M-22 Scenic Byway. I don’t know much about the house other than the sign out front declares it is the La Raue house build tin 1882 and designed by architect George F. Barber.

Since I don’t have a story to go along with the house now is a perfect time to announce the winner of the calendar giveaway. Congratulations to Kevin Witkowski, he is the winner of the Lost In Michigan wall calendar giveaway, please email me at Mike@huronphoto.com with your address and I will send out your calendar.

Thank you, everyone, for all the nice comments and suggestions of places to see and visit. I feel truly blessed to have so many kind and supportive people who read my posts every day.

Thank you for Subscribing to Lost In Michigan, If you have not subscribed yet, It would mean a lot to me if you did.

The Mail Order Church

Posted on January 19, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Churches .

Michigan has several historic churches. Some are enormous gothic style churches with huge stained glass windows and tall steeples that reach towards heaven. Some are smaller wooden churches in rural northern Michigan where they proudly sit among nature’s beauty. I have seen many churches on my travels around the state but not many of them surprise me like this little white chappel in South Lyon. It stands in the Historic Village Park along with an old schoolhouse and the whiches hat depot. ( more on that in a future post ). I stopped to see the depot but was taken back by the proud little standing quietly nearby. I took a few pics then walked up to see what was written on the plaque near the front doors.

To my surprise, I read that the chapel is a Sears and Roebuck mail-order portable chapel. I was aware that Sears sold kit homes but not chapels. It makes sense now that I think about it since it is basically a house with a steeple. I guess it gives new meaning to “House of worship.” The chapel was built on East Liberty Street in 1930 and then moved to the Historic Village in 2000.

Find Interesting locations throughout the Mitten State with a Lost In Michigan book Available on Amazon by clicking HERE

Thank you for Subscribing to Lost In Michigan, If you have not subscribed yet, It would mean a lot to me if you did.

The Red Barns of Leelanau

Posted on January 18, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Barns and Farms, Winter Wonderland .

If you have ever made the trip out to see the Grand Traverse Lighthouse at the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula you probably have seen these bright red barns. They stand along the road between the lighthouse and Northport. I have always wondered about the big barn with all the doors along the side. I am no expert on agriculture and farming and have never been able to figure out what all the doors are for.

Thank you for Subscribing to Lost In Michigan, If you have not subscribed yet, It would mean a lot to me if you did.

The Historic Courthouse in Monroe

Posted on January 17, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in courthouses .

I have been slowly visiting all the historic courthouses in Michigan as I travel around the state. I made a recent trip to Monroe which is the second oldest county in Michigan, second only to Wayne county. I love their old courthouse that was built in 1880, It was almost lost to a fire set by an arsonist back in 1992. Unfortunately, that person was never apprehended and brought to justice but the courthouse was repaired and is still standing today.

If you live in or near Monroe the Book Nook in downtown Monroe started selling Lost In Michigan books. You can find more about them on their website by clicking HERE

P.S. I have lots of photos and stories to post from the Monroe and Adrian area in the next few months that I am sure you will enjoy reading.

Thank you for Subscribing to Lost In Michigan, If you have not subscribed yet, It would mean a lot to me if you did.

The Delano Mansion

Posted on January 16, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Houses .

I saw this old victorian house in Allegan. The sign out front reads that it is The Delano Mansion Inn. Other than that I was not able to find any history on this spectacular looking house. I thought it was worth stopping for a photo.

I guess this gives me some extra time to just say thank you for taking the time from your busy day to stop and look at my posts. I hope you enjoy seeing them. I do my best to keep them random and interesting. It is a little challenging to get some nice pics during the winter with little snow but I still like to get out and see what I can find.

Thank you for Subscribing to Lost In Michigan, If you have not subscribed yet, It would mean a lot to me if you did.

The Mystery of the Newberry Tablet

Posted on January 15, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Uncategorized .

I am not sure if it is a hoax or real, but it is an interesting story. Way back in 1896 two lumberjacks were hired to clear some land for a farmer near the Upper Peninsula town of Newberry. They happen to stumble upon two small clay figures and a tablet. The 19 x 26 inch tablet had 140 characters carved into a grid pattern. No one knew what to make of them so photos were sent to the Smithsonian and University Of Michigan. The experts at the time could not recognize the writing and they deemed the tablet as a hoax. Some modern experts believe the text is similar to Minoan writing. The Minoans lived from about 3000 BC to about 1100 BC on the Greek island of Crete.

The tablets remained somewhat of a local curiosity. Eventually, they ended up at a St. Ignace tourist destination called Fort Algonquin. ( you can see my post about the fort HERE) The fort was built by Vaughan Norton in the 1920s to look like an old fort from Michigan’s fur trading days. Somehow Vaught acquired the mysterious tablet to display for the tourist.

Photo of the tablet sent to the Smithsonian

Eventually, the tablets and figures were purchased by Dr. Donald Benson. A doctor from Lansing who moved to St. Ignace. He loved to collect odd and historic artifacts and displayed them in the gift shop he owned. After his death, the artifacts went on display at the Fort De Buade Museum in downtown St. Ignace. The tablets, or more like what is left of them because they have been reduced to a couple of crumbling pieces with none of the writing remaining, is on display with the worn-down figures.

One theory is they have to be a hoax because if they are supposed to be hundreds or even thousands of years old, from the time of the Minoans, how did they survive for so long only to be eroded away in a short amount of time after they were discovered. Like I wrote at the beginning of the post, I am not sure it is real or a hoax, but it is an interesting story.

Lost In Michigan books are ON SALE this weekend at Amazon to learn more click HERE

Thank you for Subscribing to Lost In Michigan, If you have not subscribed yet, It would mean a lot to me if you did.

Lost In Michigan Calendar Giveaway

Posted on January 14, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Giveaways .

Here is your chance to win a Lost In Michigan wall calendar. I sold out of them in the middle of December but I saved a few just in case any got lost in the mail or something. I figured I would give away a calendar to one lucky subscriber chosen at random. You have to be an email subscriber to win so if you have not subscribed to Lost In Michigan, you can do it HERE or down below

I am out of calendars but Lost In Michigan books are available on Amazon and the first volume is ON SALE HERE ( please note: I have turned off the e-commerce part of my website. with the traffic I have been getting lately it was overloading my web hosting. For now I am using Amazon to sell my books online.)

I have been working on getting my books in book stores. It has been a slow process but I am working on it. Currently, books are available at these stores. Click on the links to go to their websites and learn more about them.

Charlin’s Book Nook in Frankenmuth

Coyer Candle Co. in Midland and Bay City

Rooted in Mancelona

The Antique Warehouse in Saginaw

The Windowsill Book Store in Ludington

Annie’s Book Store in Manistee

Book Nook in Monroe

To enter the giveaway leave a comment on this post below, preferably someplace you would like me to do a post about, but It can be any comment to enter. I will choose a winner at random from the comments. I will announce the winner in a post on Monday, Jan. 20th. Thank you to all of you for taking the time to read my posts. I do my best to keep them interesting and random and hope you look forward to getting my daily email.

Thank you for Subscribing to Lost In Michigan, If you have not subscribed yet, It would mean a lot to me if you did.

The Forgotten General Store

Posted on January 13, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Forgotten Places, General Store, Ghost towns .

Bracing itself against the wind and snow for several years the remains of this old general store still stand in the small forgotten town of Dighton. Located a few miles south of Cadillac, the town was named after Dighton Marvin. At one point it had over 1000 residents and three sawmills. Not much remains of the old sawmill town today. A store and a few houses are all that is left of the once bustling community.

Thank you for Subscribing to Lost In Michigan, If you have not subscribed yet, It would mean a lot to me if you did.

The Michigan Legend of Indian Dave

Posted on January 11, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Uncategorized .

If you travel along M-25 near Unionville you will pass by an old Historical Marker standing in front of the Wisner Township Cemetery. It tells the story of a remarkable and enigmatic man known as Indian Dave.

It is unclear exactly when and where he was born but he was given the name Ishdonquit or, Crossing Cloud. He claimed to be the son of Chief Nipmup of the Chippewa tribe but he was considered an outcast by the tribe. He is officially recorded as David Stocker but most people in the area called him Indian Dave.

He witnesses the beginning of Michigan and was at the signing by the tribal chiefs for the Treaty of Saginaw. He lived off the land in the Tuscola County area making baskets, arrows and carving wooden toys for children. He would travel into the different towns around the thumb selling his trinkets and telling stories of days gone by to the local children.

Indian Daves’s most notable contribution to Tuscola County came when he transported the county records by canoe to the new courthouse in Caro. At the beginning of the county’s history, Vassar was the county seat. It was decided to move the county seat in 1866 to Caro which was more centrally located in the county. Local businessman Peter D. Bush donated the land for the courthouse. Vasser was not willing to transfer the county records to the new county seat. As legend has it, Mr. Bush and Indian Dave snuck into the Vassar building holding the records. After retrieving the records they went by canoe down the Cass River and promptly secured the records in the new courthouse in Caro.

He was believed to be 106 when he died and is buried in an unmarked grave in the Wisner Township Cemetery. The historical marker stands as a reminder of the man who was an important part of the Thumbs history so long ago.

Lost In Michigan books are ON SALE this weekend at Amazon to learn more click HERE

Thank you for Subscribing to Lost In Michigan, If you have not subscribed yet, It would mean a lot to me if you did.

« Previous Page