November 2023 - Lost In Michigan

Out of Service Station

Posted on November 29, 2023 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Forgotten Places .

This old service station stands in downtown Saginaw not far from city hall. It was built sometime in the the 1920s and is the oldest service station still standing in Saginaw. Several years ago it was painted by artist Eric Schantz. It still stands as a reminder of a time when cars pulled into a little gas station to ring the bell for an attendant to come out and fill it with gas and check over the engine and tires.

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Autumn In Salem

Posted on November 27, 2023 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in autumn, Churches .

Salem Michigan is west of Canton, on 6 Mile Road, and there is this beautiful little church with an old cemetery in town. I could not resist taking a photo of it with these beautiful autumn trees. After the post office from the nearby town of Summit was moved here in 1876, the town was named after Salem NY, where many of its residents came from. The church was used in a scene in the 2012 movie The Five Year Engagement.

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The Beer Castle In Marquette

Posted on November 22, 2023 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in castles, upper peninsula .

This castle like office building is located at the intersection of Meeske Street and US 41 in Marquette, Michigan. Built in the 1890s, the structure served as the home and office of brewer Charles Meeske, secretary-treasurer and later president of the Upper Peninsula Brewing Company. The building originally had a tunnel leading to the brewery, allowing Meeske to ignore a law prohibiting a person from entering a brewery after sundown.

In the 1890s, Meeske built a bottling plant with a complex of sandstone buildings, constructed to resemble small castles which included warehouses, residences, a tower, and a bottling plant. In 1895, the brewery had a production capacity of between 20,000 and 25,000 barrels per year, sold under the name of Drei Kaiser (Three Kings) beer. With the onset of World War I in 1913, the name was changed to “Castle Brew.”

Local prohibition groups pressured Marquette County to enact dry ordinances in 1916, four years before the beginning of country-wide Prohibition. When these ordinances were passed, the Upper Peninsula Brewing Company ended its beer production and went out of business,and Meeske moved to Duluth, Minnesota.

After the Upper Peninsula Brewing Company folded most of the buildings were eventually abandoned and fell into disrepair. Meeske’s office building was more heavily utilized, serving as a rock shop, a law firm, and an antique shop. In 1974 and 1975 most of the buildings were demolished saving only the office building. In 1982 the structure was purchased by Humboldt Ridge and restored. The building is currently home to the Marquette law firm Pence & Numinen, P.C.

A new brewery with the name Upper Peninsula Brewing Company now operates in the nearby town of Negaunee.

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Clare County Poor Farm

Posted on November 20, 2023 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Barns and Farms, Cemetery .

South of Harrison is a stairway that leads to a small field surrounded by stone pillars and metal fencing. It is the cemetery and all that remains of the old Clare County Poor Farm. There are no headstones or markers but it is believed that about 100 bodies are buried in the cemetery. The were former residents of the poor farm and died while living their.

The poor farm in Harrison was the third one constructed in Clare County, It was built in 1912 and renamed the Clare County Infirmary. It closed in 1945 and burned down a few years later. The former residents lay in their final resting place nearby without markers to remember their names.

P.S. Lost In Michigan wall calendars are ON SALE on Zazzle HERE.

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The Davidson House

Posted on November 17, 2023 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Houses .

This excellent Queen Anne Style house, completed in 1890 was the residence of Wilbur F. Davidson until his death in 1913. Born in Adrian in 1852, Davidson opened a Port Huron dry goods store in 1882. The next year he installed in the store the first electric light plant in St. Clair County. Much of the rest of his business career was with public and private electrical utilities. Davidson’s daughter lived in the family home until 1951. In 1972 the building was entered on the National Register of Historic Places.

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The Cabin in the Woods

Posted on November 15, 2023 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Houses, upper peninsula .

In the Upper Peninsula, I traveled down the Huron Bay Grade that follows along the Peshekee River in the Huron Mountains. I was headed to the Rock Cut and I traveled into the wilderness for almost an hour. I came across this cabin in the woods. It looks as the roof and windows are still maintained so I assume someone lives there or uses it as a hunting cabin. I live in a big city about a mile from a Meijer’s Thrifty Acres and I cannot fathom being so isolated from the modern world. Sometime I think it would be nice to have some piece and quiet but I could not live long without internet. I often wonder about some of these places that I pass by in the middle of nowhere.

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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Thank You

Posted on November 10, 2023 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in people .

Michigan does not have the military bases it once did. Many have closed over the years and have been repurposed into other uses. I don’t see a lot of active military personnel on a daily bases like people who live near an active military base. We designate a day in November to thank the people that swore an oath to protect the constitution and serve the great nation.

Thank you to the men and women who risk their lives protecting us and there to help in times of peril. I have not served in the military myself, but have many relatives and friends that have and continue to serve. I have been able to visit a few active military bases and it always impresses me the honor and dedication in which the people I have meet perform their duties to the United States of America.

Thank you to all of our veterans and their families for the sacrifices you have made for our freedom.

The Big Weather Vane in Gladwin

Posted on November 8, 2023 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Barns and Farms .

Northwest of Gladwin near the intersection of Bard Road at Eagleson Roads is a massive weather vane. Constructed by a local farmer, it has an antique tractor an plow on it that points in the direction of the wind. In the west Michigan town of Montague is a weather vane that has claimed to be the largest weather vane. You can see it on my post HERE I am thinking the one in Gladwin is larger. I am not sure which one is officially larger but both weather vanes in Michigan are impressive and worth a road trip to see.

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The Town on the Other Side of the Bridge

Posted on November 6, 2023 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Ghost towns .

I visited the old historic Fallasburg Covered Bridge a few years ago. I took some photographs of it and because I was short on time I did not drive across the wooden bridge. On a recent visit, I made the trip across the bridge and discovered a whole town of historic buildings and houses. Like the tower farmhouse built in the 1850s in the photo in this post. I guess from now on the next time I get to a bridge, especially a historic one, I am going to be sure to cross it and see what is on the other side.

If you enjoy reading my posts, I hope you will take a look at www.Lostinthestates.com website for posts about the other 49 states. You can see it HERE or my facbook page HERE

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The Yellow Octagon House

Posted on November 3, 2023 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Houses .

This yellow octagon house stands on the back roads near Oxford. Known as Maple Grove it was constructed around 1850 by Harry Frink, who was a farmer and master carpenter from New York State. At the time octagon houses and buildings were all the rage and about fifty still stand in Michigan.

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