June 2020 - Lost In Michigan

Northern Michigan Asylum

Posted on June 30, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Historic Places .

Northern Michigan Asylum was established in 1881 as a psychiatric hospital near downtown Traverse City. As treatments and care changed for patients over the decades the hospital was outdated and closed in 1989. Many of the buildings have been renovated and repurposed into office spaces and retail shopping and dining. The complex is now called The Village at Grand Traverse Commons. A few of the old asylum buildings are still waiting to be renovated like the one in the photo. If you are ever in Traverse City be sure to check out the shops in building Building 50. You can see more at their website HERE

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The Upper Peninsula Rocket Range

Posted on June 29, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in upper peninsula .

At the northernmost point of the Keweenaw Peninsula in the U.P. is the remains of an old rocket launchpad. The site was used in the 60’s to launch experimental rockets. The only thing that remains of the old site is a concrete pad and an old iron rail. A stone memorial was placed a the site to commemorate the historic achievements.

The memorial reads:

The Keweenaw Rocket Range
The State Of Michigan established a rocket range on this site which was used from 1964 – 1971. Michigan’s first rocket to enter space was launched from this site on Jan. 29, 1971. In tribute to the historic work done in the field of rocketry, this memorial stone was placed in the summer of the year 2000.

It is an interesting a beautiful place to visit along the Lake Superior shoreline. The road to get to the former site can be challenging and requires a four-wheel drive vehicle or some people have ridden a mountain bike to the old rocket range. you can learn more about the old rocket range in Volume 3 of my Lost In Michigan books.

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Pioneer Log Cabin

Posted on June 28, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Historic Places, Houses .

This old log cabin was built south of Cassopolis with logs donated by local citizens. It was built in 1923 to honor the pioneers that settled in the area. It was meant to be a temporary structure for a Pioneer Day celebration, but it has stood next to the shores of Stony Lake for almost a century. It operates as a museum during the summer months.

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Passenger Cars at the End of the Line in Yuma

Posted on June 27, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Forgotten Places .

I was roaming the back roads near Yuma, ( Michigan not Arizona) and I came across these old railroad passenger cars. You can’t see it in the photo but the railroad tracks end a few hundred feet from the rail cars. It seemed peculiar to seem them way out in the middle of nowhere. I can only assume they parked them until they are needed again.

P.S. if you are wondering Yuma (Michigan not Arizona) is south of Mesick near the Manistee National Forest.

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The Shack at the Beginning

Posted on June 26, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Forgotten Places .

I took a pic of this old shack way back in the summer of 2013. It was before I even started my website. It was one of the places that inspired me to create Lost In Michigan. It sits northwest of Cadillac along M-115 and I took a pic when I went past it seven years ago. I past by it often and still wonder what its story is.

Just to let you know. I will be traveling around the Upper Peninsula at the end of June and the beginning of July so if you don’t see any new posts from me for a while that is the reason. I hope to do some new posts while I am camping in my travel trailer. I am not sure how good of a connection I will have to the internet, so I just want to give you a heads up if I “disappear” for a while.

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The Whaley House

Posted on June 25, 2020 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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Sand Point’s Lifesaving Boat House

Posted on June 24, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Historic Places .

Few people visit this old forgotten boathouse with a link to our maritime past. Northeast of Munising past the Munising Falls visitors center is the former Sand Point Lifesaving Station. It is now used as offices and living space for the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. I think a lot of visitors head out that way and just figure they are only buildings used by the rangers.

The boathouse used by the Lifesaving Service has been somewhat restored and houses an old lifesaving boat and equipment used by the men who were stationed there. When I visited the doors were open and people were welcomed to tour the inside and read the signs explaining all the items contained within.

It is a great little place to visit especially if it is late in the evening. You can get a good view of the sun setting. Across the water is Grand Island and you can get a view of the East Channel Lighthouse.

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The Old Barn Near Howell

Posted on June 23, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Barns and Farms .

I was out roaming the back roads around Howell and I came across this old barn with the ivy growing up the sides. Like most of the old barns I photograph, I don’t know any history or stores about it. I can only imagine the farmer’s horses had a nice home when it was built, but then again I am a city boy and not a farming expert either, but I do know a pretty old barn when I see one. I was not able to spend a lot of time in Howell but it is a beautiful town, I need to get back there soon.

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East China School

Posted on June 22, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Schools .

East China is situated along the St Clair River and is in the eastern part of China Township. I guess that is where the name of the town came from. While passing through town I saw this cute little brick schoolhouse with a historical marker mounted to the brick wall. It reads:

East China Township was set off from China Township in 1859. In 1868 Harriet J. Comstock, an heir of pioneer Andrew J. Westbrook, sold a parcel of land to School District No. 2. A frame school, built in the site prior to 1853, was replaced by this brick school around 1873. It was one of three mid-nineteenth-century schools in the township, and is the only one remaining. Classes were held here until 1954. The township restored the building in 1988-1991 for use as a museum

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St. Wenceslaus Church

Posted on June 21, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Churches .

The historic St. Wenceslaus Church stands quietly among the orchards in the Leelanau Peninsula. The historical marker next to it shares some history and reads:

In the 1860s and 1870s settlers from Bohemia (now part of Czechoslovakia) came to this area and worked at the Leland Lake Superior Iron Foundry and the Gill sawmill. Catholics attended mass at the Holy Trinity Church in Leland until the church burned in 1880. In 1890 the first St. Wenceslaus Church was built and the cemetery was established. Ornate metal grave markers reflect the Bohemian heritage, as do the names Bourda, Houdek, Hula, Jelinek, Kalchick, Kirt, Kolarik, Korson, Kovarik, Maresh, Novotny, Reicha and Sedlacek, which appear in the cemetery. The church membership doubled by 1908. In 1914 volunteers hauled bricks and other materials to this site and built the present church. This Late Gothic Revival church was completed during that year.

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