October 2023 - Lost In Michigan

A Ship in Harbor

Posted on October 30, 2023 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in autumn, Ships and Boats, upper peninsula .

“A Ship in Harbor Is Safe, But that Is Not What Ships Are Built For” John A. Shedd

Seeing the Mackenzie May fishing tug tied up at the Black River Harbor reminded me of this quote. But with the November gales coming up it also reminded me of what my step father Jim used to say. “It’s better to be a little safe now than a lot sorry later.” Anyways I thought it was a nice peaceful autumn day and photo and it wont be long when winter has its icy grip on the mitten of Michigan.

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The Old Farmhouse

Posted on October 27, 2023 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Barns and Farms, Forgotten Places .

I saw this old farmhouse while I was out roaming the back roads near Harrison. I am not sure what the story is with this old house but it looks as if it has been a long time since anyone has trick or treated at this place for Halloween.

Thank you for taking the time to look at my posts from my travels around Michigan. If you want to see posts from other states, I hope you will take a look at my other website. Lost In The States HERE

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The Lonely Gravesite of Emma L. Northrup

Posted on October 25, 2023 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Cemetery, people .

This lonely tombstone stands in the northern Michigan woods near Kingsley. It is for Emma L. Northrup who died while traveling with her parents. Her family was traveling by horse and buggy in 1875 from New York. They were traveling to Michigan to start a new life farming when 6 year old Emma became ill and died. They laid her body to rest along the trail. A new marker replaced an older one and is located near Mayfield and Knight Roads. When I visited there were many trinkets left at little Emma’s grave. It is near an ORV trail and many riders stop at the grave to pay there respects to the little girl laid to rest in the woods.

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The Water Tower at the Asylum

Posted on October 23, 2023 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Water Tower .

Standing in the center of the Kalamazoo Regional Psychiatric Hospital is an ornate brick water tower that looks like it’s out of a fairy tale as if Rapunzel is going to let out her long golden hair out one of the windows. The hospital is no fairy tale of a place and was one of the largest hospitals of its kind when it opened as the Michigan Asylum For The Insane in 1859. To supply water to the hospital a water tower was constructed in 1895. To complement the feel of the hospital architect B. F. Stratton from Detroit was commissioned to design the water tower. The hospital changed names in 1911 to the Kalamazoo State Hospital and in 1978 it changed again to the Kalamazoo Regional Psychiatric Hospital.

Like with any large psychiatric facility there are stories that go along with it to make you wonder if it is haunted. A doctor was stabbed to death by a patient in 1904 and a nurse was strangled to death when a patent lured her into the basement in 1954. I am not sure if there are any spirits still residing in the hospital, but I am sure that the old water tower has bore witness to many things good and bad as it stands tall looking over Kalamazoo and the old hospital.

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Copper Peak

Posted on October 20, 2023 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in autumn, upper peninsula .

Driving down the Black River National Forest Scenic Byway there is a spot where to road curves and you can see a massive metal structure the overlooks high above the trees. It is the Copper Peak Ski Jump and it is the worlds largest artificial ski jump. It was built in 1969 and stands 1782 feet above sea level. It is the 6th largest ski jump in the world but it has not been used by skiers since 1994.

Visitors can ride the chair lift to the jump and then the elevator to the top of it. I did not have time to do it when I was there but hope to get back there again someday. I have take a lot of photos of it but I can convey how large it is in a photo. I could not imagine jumping off of it. I think you would have to be a little crazy or a lot crazy to be a ski jumper.

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Finding Bliss in Northern Michigan

Posted on October 18, 2023 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in General Store, small towns .

If you are searching for Bliss in northern Michigan you will it find somewhere between Mackinaw City and Cross Village. It’s the name of a small town in the agricultural area south of Wilderness State Park. In 1878, the town got a post office, and the little community was named after Arron T. Bliss, a wealthy lumber baron in Saginaw. I assume he owned land and a sawmill in the area. He became the 25th governor of Michigan. There is not a lot of buildings in the small town, but the general store is still in business. If you are in the area you can stop for a moment of bliss in the town of Bliss.

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Treat’s Farm

Posted on October 16, 2023 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Barns and Farms, Sleeping Bear Dunes .

South of Empire where Norconk Road makes a sharp bend about a mile west of M22 is the Treat Farm Trail. The trail is not posted but it is part of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lake Shore. It is along the trail that you will find an old farm. It is not abandoned but maintained by the National Park Service.

The farm was originally started in the 1840s by John Tweddle. After living in a log cabin on the property for decades he built the current farm house in the 1880s. In 1912 Charles Treat and his wife, Martha bought the farm and raised their family on the remote countryside along Lake Michigan. The barn on the property was purchased near Detroit by Charles and he had is disassembled and shipped by rail to Empire. The pieces where transported by horses to the farm and reassembled.

Charles Treat’s education was in engineering and he used his knowledge on his farm. The house did not have running water. He tried drilling a well but it was plugged with sand. He set up a set of eve troughs on the house to collect rainwater in a cistern for the house. He also experimented with concrete making a root cellar in the side of the hill and a unique concrete domed garage. Eventually the property became part of Sleeping Bear Dunes and is open to hikers to explore and a trail leads up to a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan.

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In Search Of The Witchy Wolf

Posted on October 13, 2023 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Uncategorized .

A friend of mine told me a story of an old native american legend about a half dog half wolf ( I always thought a dog was a wolf, but I digress) that roams the Omer Plains along the Rifle River, protecting the spirits of the native american warriors that have died and are buried in the Omer Plains. Maybe I am a little naive but I think many legends and stories start with a little bit of truth to them, and so I figured I would do a little research, Of course I went to where everyone goes looking for information, no not the library, or the encyclopedia, but Google.

Searching for the old native american cemetery, I found the Plains Cemetery on google maps on Jose Road near Grove Road. On my recent trip up north, why not stop by and see what’t there. Heading north out of Standish I found Jose road, and traveled towards Omer, the biggest little city in Michigan, I stopped where Google said there was a cemetery. Maybe there was one there, but I did not see anything that looked like one, nor did I see the Witchy Wolf. A deer ran across the road which scared the bejesus out of me, good thing I was wearing my brown pants. I was there during the daytime. so maybe the Witchy Wolf only comes out at night.

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The Ghost Stories of Franklin Church

Posted on October 11, 2023 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Churches, Haunted Places .

This cute little white and green church stands in south western Michigan. It is a few miles west of Dowagiac and over the door are the words Franklin Church EST 1854. Next to the church is an old cemetery. Listed as the Franklin Cemetery it is also known as Munchkin Land. It got the nickname because rumor has it that many people have seen the ghosts of children in the old graveyard.

As the story goes, that I have read on several sites on the internet, In the late 1800s the minister at the church murdered two young girls and burned their bodies in the woods behind the church. After being found out the minister hung himself in the bell tower of the church. I am not sure if the old church is still used for weekly services but I have seen some old photos of it before it was restored. It looked rather dilapidated and that is when I assume the ghost stories started being told. It is nice that the old historic building has been restored.

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Crystal Falls Courthouse

Posted on October 9, 2023 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in courthouses, upper peninsula .

The Iron County courthouse is a magnificent building, almost castle like, at the top of the hill, looking over the city of Crystal Falls. The Richardsonian Romanesque Style building which was completed in 1891. Constructed of regional materials, including reddish stone columns quarried from the nearby Paint River and yellow clay bricks.

You can’t miss this old courthouse when traveling across the Upper Peninsula on U.S. 2, as it takes you thru the city of Crystal Falls. As you drive up the hill, heading west thru downtown, the building is looking down on you, almost as if it’s judging your character. I guess that’s one more reason why it is such and impressive courthouse.

If you love exploring the Upper Peninsula or reading about its unique places, I hope you will take a look at my new book LOST IN MICHIGAN’S UPPER PENINSULA available on Amazon HERE

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