Monthly Archives: August 2020

The Concrete Lodge

Posted on by Posted in Iconic Buildings .

This unique looking structure sits along the shores of Lake Huron. It has a strange look because it is made of concrete blocks. It is next to the Besser Natureal Area that is located between Alpena and Rogers City. Jesse Besser created a machine that made blocks from concrete for use in the construction of homes and buildings. I was not able to find any information on the lodge but someone told me  The Besser Company built this building as a retreat. Jesse Besser donated the land next to the lodge in the 1960s to create the Besser Natural area. The building is still privately owned and still being used but you can see it from the hiking trail that runs along the shoreline.

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Alder Falls

Posted on by Posted in upper peninsula, Waterfalls .


I have been to a lot of different waterfalls in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula but my favorite is Adler Falls. Located northwest of Marquette it can be a little tricky to find on a two-track road off County Road 550 near Big Bay. After parking near a little wooden sign for the falls you need to hike down into a gorge to see the waterfalls. There are no steps, so it can be tricky to climb down and back up, especially for someone out of shape like me. I think that is why I like these falls so much, they are hard to access, and find, so there is not a large crowd of people, the times that I was there, no one else was around and it was a peaceful place to relax and enjoy the falls as the water rushed around the large rocks in the river.

Besides the falls, you are near the Big Bay lighthouse ( you can see my post about it HERE) and the Tavern that was made famous in the Jimmy Stewart movie Anatomy of a Murder

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The Lawr Barn

Posted on by Posted in Barns and Farms .

This old barn is north of Glen Arbor in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. George and Louisa Burfiend Lawr built this barn for their farm in the 1890s. Louisa was the daughter of Port Oneida pioneer Carsten Burfiend. George and Luisa farmed their land until 1945.

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Lamb Knit Goods

Posted on by Posted in Forgotten Places .

I drove through the southern Michigan town of Colon and it was hard to miss the enormous brick building with LAMB KNIT GOODS CO. painted across the front above the door.

The building was built in 1863 as the Colon Seminary for educating and training teachers.   In the 1890s it was converted into the Lamb Knit Goods Company’s factory.  The company was named for Isaac Lamb, the inventor of the circular knitting machine, and part-owner of the company.  In 1903, the company produced 58,457 pairs of knit gloves and mittens. Later on, they went into making sweaters and bathing suits, ( yes wool bathing suits).  The company closed in the 1970s.

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Michigan’s Forgotten Town of Allenville

Posted on by Posted in Ghost towns, upper peninsula .

If you take M-123 to Tahquamenon Falls a few miles from I-75 is where the town of Allenville is or at least was. About all that remains is an old general store that stands on Brevort Lake Rd.

I have found two different origins for the name of the town. One says it was named after Allen P Hulbert the superintendent of the Martel Furnace Company that had charcoal kilns in the town. The other source is Wikipedia that said the town was named after J. Alley, head of the Alley Lumber Company, and was known as Alley Town. Which is correct I am not sure but like the town, its history is slowly fading away.

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The White Rock Schoolhouse

Posted on by Posted in Schools, Thumb .

In a field located in the town of White Rock is a two-room brick schoolhouse. It is the third schoolhouse in the town located in the Thumb along the Lake Huron shoreline. The first one was built after the great fire of 1871. It burned down in the great fire of 1881. The second schoolhouse burned down in 1908 and this brick one is what replaced it. The school’s teachers taught children until 1968 when it was closed. A few years later the Huron County Historical Society purchased it and converted it into their museum.

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Sputnik of the Great Lakes

Posted on by Posted in Lighthouses .

The light at the end of the break wall in Alpena was constructed in 1914. It was built out of steel replacing two previous lights that were made from wood and deteriorated in northern Michigan’s harsh climate. It is not really a true lighthouse like other ones in Michigan. It is more a beacon and the keeper lived nearby in a house provided to him. Because of the way it looks with its framework, some people have affectionately called it Sputnik after the Soviet Union satellite.

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The Ludington Caboose

Posted on by Posted in Forgotten Places .

This old caboose sits forgotten and decaying near the entrance to Ludington State Park. I passed by it frequently when camping at the park and I often wonder what its story is. With its faded yellow paint almost gone and bare wood showing it looks as if it has been sitting there for a long time.

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The Big Green House in Dowagiac

Posted on by Posted in Uncategorized .

This big green house with a round turret on the corner proudly stands in Dowagiac Thankfully a Michigan Historical Marker stands next to it giving a little bit of history about the home and the people who lived in it.

Businessman and farmer Charles M. Criffield (1867-1929) and his wife, Cora, (1865-1945) built this Queen-Anne style house in 1897. Fred Corber managed the construction. In 1920 the Criffields sold the house to Ethel and Harry H. Whiteley. Elected to the Michigan House of Representatives in 1914. Mr , Whiteley moved his family to Dowagiac in 1915 in order to buy into and manage the Dowagiac Daily News. The building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places

Harry H. Whiteley (1882-1957) used his successful Dowagiac newspaper and his position as a member of the Michigan Senate (1923-26) and the Michigan Conservation Commission (1927-48) to shape Michigan’s public land policy. He advocated for Warren Dunes and many other state parks. Sara Ethel (1882-1975), a founding member of the Samuel Felt Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, led the chapter’s effort to honor veterans of World War II with a memorial highway and park.

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Little House On Da Upper Peninsula

Posted on by Posted in Houses, upper peninsula .

I saw this old house somewhere near Hessel. I don’t know its story and unfortunately, walls don’t talk, but I am sure it could tell a good tale if they could speak.

Since I don’t have a story to go with this house I figure this is a good time RT o let you know what is going on with my facebook page. My posts on facebook have been limited to less than 5000 for my reach. With over 60000 people who like my page most will not see my posts in their newsfeed unless I pay facebook to boost my reach. I think it is wrong for facebook to determine who gets to see my posts and who doesn’t. It will cost me too much to boost each post. I guess for now Facebook prefers to show political ads instead of posts people want to see.

Sorry for the rant. I just wanted to let you know what is happening with facebook and why I am evauluating if I should even post there anymore. I still plan to post on my website every day so be sure to subscribe to email notifications and it would really mean a lot to me if you share my posts with your friends.

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