March 2022 - Lost In Michigan

Fort St Joseph Rock

Posted on March 31, 2022 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Michigan Historical Markers .

This massive rock with the words FORT ST JOSEPH carved into it sits along the St. Joseph River. It is in a park south of Niles. The historical marker next to it reads:

The French fort built here in 1691 controlled southern Michigan’s principal Indian trade routes. Missionaries and fur traders were here already. The fort became a British outpost in 1761. Two years later it was one of the forts seized by Indians during the uprising of Chief Pontiac. Still later, traders made it their headquarters. In 1781, Spanish raiders ran up the flag of Spain at the fort for a few hours.

The British maintained the fort until after the United States victory in the Northwest Indian War and the signing of Jay’s Treaty in 1795. This settled the northern border. After the British abandoned the fort, it fell into ruin and was overtaken by forest. The massive rock was placed as a marker for the fort and dedicated on July 4, 1913.

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Woodland

Posted on March 30, 2022 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in small towns .

Traveling the back roads of Michigan, I come across many small towns. Some have a long history but unfortunately, they are not thriving like they once used to. I like to take photos that highlight the town in a good way because I know people like to be proud of where they live. I saw this old building in Woodlawn west of Lansing and it just called to me to take a photo of it. Woodland was settled by brothers Johnathan and Charles Galloway in 1837 and was given the name Woodland for the dense woods it was located in.

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The Two Story Outhouse

Posted on March 29, 2022 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Historic Places .

Down the road from the Cedar Lake post office is a strange looking two story building. It is a replica of a historic two story outhouse that once stood at this site. A two story building stood in front of it and a bridge when from the second floor to the top floor of the privy. The building burned down and the outhouse collapsed from decay a few years ago. The owner of the property built this replica as a reminder of the old two story outhouse.

Please note it sits on private property but you can see it from M-575 (Academy Road) or the Fred Meijer Hartland Trail which passes nearby.

You can see a photo of the original outhouse in my post HERE

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The Oldest Cemetery

Posted on March 28, 2022 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Cemetery, upper peninsula .

Many visitors come into the Upper Peninsula by crossing the Mackinac Bridge then turn left and head west down US-2 for the western part of the U.P. I wonder how many travelers notice the cemetery a few miles west of St Ignace. The Gros Cap cemetery is one of the oldest contiguously operating cemeteries in the nation.

In the 1600s, a large group of Ottawa Indians settled in the area and established a burial ground which is now part of the present day cemetery. Over the centuries both Native Americans and European settlers have been laid to rest in the cemetery. A wide variety of headstones and grave markers can be seen in this pretty little graveyard. From wooden crosses to modern granite marks it spans a lot of history. I wonder how many people just pass on by without knowing the history of this cemetery.

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The Michigan Pyramid

Posted on March 27, 2022 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Historic Places .

The town of Kewadin sits at the northern end of Elk Lake. North of town next to the Cairn Highway is a stone pyramid also known as a cairn. It’s a Scottish term used to describe a man-made stack of stone used as a monument. On the front of the monument is a plaque dedicated to Hugh J. Gray “Dean of Michigan’s Tourist Activity.” The cairn was built in 1938 using stones from all of Michigan’s 83 counties with their name inscribed on the stone. Wexford County’s stone is a block of rubber from the tire factory that was located in its borders. My favorite is Huron County which is a small grindstone most likely from Grindstone City at the tip of the thumb.

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The Ship on the Weathervane

Posted on March 26, 2022 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Ships and Boats .

The worlds largest weathervane is in the town of Montague. It is north of Muskegon near Lake Michigan. constructed from aluminum, it stands 48 feet tall with a 26-foot wind arrow which is decorated with a sailing schooner.

The ship on top of the weathervane represents the Ella Ellenwood, a Great Lakes lumber schooner whose home port was Montague. In October of 1901, the Ellenwood ran aground eight miles north of Milwaukee. The crew abandoned ship, and the wind and waves pummeled the wooden ship to pieces. The next spring, a portion of the ship’s nameplate, bearing the word “Ellenwood,” was found in the White Lake channel. It had drifted back across the lake to it’s home port.

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Peninsular Powerhouse

Posted on March 25, 2022 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Forgotten Places .

This abandoned shell of a building sits along the Huron River in Peninsular Park in Ypsilanti. It is not hard to figure out what it was used for since there is an enormous sign on top of the roof that reads: PENINSULAR PAPER CO. This was the old powerhouse at the end of the dam. The paper mill closed a long time ago but the dam still remains.

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The Witch’s Hat in Saranac

Posted on March 24, 2022 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Train Depots .

This old depot was one of only a few train depots in Michigan with “Witch’s Hat” design. It was built in 1907 and stands in the town of Saranac between Ionia and Grand Rapids. It has been a while since any train has stopped at the old depot. It now serves as a history museum and the old railroad tracks are now the Fred Meijer Grand River Valley Trail.

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The Old House near the Pigeon River

Posted on March 23, 2022 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Forgotten Places, Houses .

I saw this old house, or hotel, or saloon, or whatever it used to be, near the Pigeon River between the towns of Wolverine and Afton. It looks as if it has had a hard life living among the trees enduring the harsh Michigan weather. It’s just barely standing, but it has not totally given up yet. I am sure a long time ago, there was a lot of pride when it was first built, but from the looks of it, that was several years ago.

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Spring at Fox River

Posted on March 22, 2022 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in State Parks, upper peninsula .

Between Seney and Grand Maris is a state forest campground along the Fox River. I needed to stop for a break on my travels around the Upper Peninsula and found this nice little quiet campground. I also found a pipe sticking out of the ground with water flowing out of it. I filled up my water bottle with the cool refreshing water from this artesian spring. This was a favorite fishing spot along the Fox River for Hemingway, and I wonder if he got water from this natural spring back in the day.

P.S. Michigan has several state forest campground throughout the U. P. and I think they are hidden gems if you are looking for a quiet place to camp.

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