June 2024 - Lost In Michigan

The Ghost Town of Watson

Posted on June 28, 2024 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Ghost towns, upper peninsula .

County Road 426 runs along the center part of the Upper Peninsula. It passes through the old town of Watson. A few homes still stand in the area but it looks as if it has been a long time since the old store was open for business. At one time an IGA sign hung from the metal bar at the top of the building but that is gone. The old building just stands by the road watching cars pass by remembering the days when people stopped for groceries.

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The Silos in Old Town Saginaw

Posted on June 26, 2024 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Barns and Farms .

These colorful silos stand in Old Town Saginaw along the Saginaw River. They were painted by Madrid artist Okuda San Miguel with the help of a team of local artist. It is said to be one of the largest murals in the United States. If you want to check it out for yourself you can see it at 105 Lyon St, Saginaw, MI 48602. If you do go to see it be sure to check out some of the local shops, restaurants and bars in the area along Hamilton and court streets. If you have young kids the Saginaw Children’s zoo is not far away.

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Big Red Round Barn

Posted on June 24, 2024 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Barns and Farms .

I saw this big red round barn south of Traverse City. I don’t know anything about it other than it is nifty looking.

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The Ruins along Old US-2

Posted on June 21, 2024 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Historic Places, upper peninsula .

US-2 runs along the southern side of the Upper Peninsula. Between Manistique and Gulliver is a short section of road that shows up on the map as Old US Hwy 2. Near the road are two large brick crumbling structures. They are the remains of kilns used by the White Marble Lime Company, founded by George Nicholson Jr. in 1889. The kilns, which were fired by wood waste from the lumber industry, burned dolomite to produce quicklime for use as a building material and an ingredient in the manufacture of paper. The company also established a sawmill, shingle mill and became a dealer in forest products, as well as crushed stone, cement, and builders’ supplies and employed nearly 250 workers. In 1925 the company was reorganized as the Manistique Lime and Stone Company but went out a few years later during the Depression of 1929.

The stone kilns still stand as a reminder of the lime industry in the region. They stand on private property but are visible from the road.

If you love exploring the Upper Peninsula I hope you will take a look at my Upper Peninsula book Available on Amazon HERE https://amzn.to/3Bn9lKc

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Michigan’s Old Western Town

Posted on June 18, 2024 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Ghost towns .

If you are looking for someplace different to visit that few people know about you need to stop by the old western town of Coopersville. You won’t find it on a map of Michigan since it’s not an official town. It was built by Spike Cooper who is a big fan of westerns and John Wayne. Over the years he has built an old west style town and welcomes people to come visit. It’s full of interesting antiques and funny signs adorning its many buildings. the town has a general store, livery, jail, and a cemetery. Spike Cooper passed away a few years ago but his friends and family keep his little town alive.

the address is:
1860 Fire Tower Road
Lewiston, MI 49756

It has a Lewiston address but its centrally located between Lewiston Grayling and Mio. you can see it on google maps HERE

It’s not far from Hartwick Pines and would be a good place to check out along with the logging museum and chapel at Hartwick Pines State Park.

One last thing. do not confuse it with the actual town of Coopersville near Grand Rapids.

I hope you will take a look at my new Michigan Ghost Town book on Amazon HERE

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Cambridge Junction

Posted on June 16, 2024 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Historic Places, Michigan State Parks .

At the corner of the Old Chicago Road (U.S. 12) and the La Plaisance Pike (M-50) in Michigan’s Irish Hills, is Cambridge Junction Historic State Park / Walker Tavern Historic Site. The site contains a modest, one-and-a-half-story farmhouse that has sat on its original site for nearly two centuries. Built about 1832, the white clapboard Walker Tavern is perched atop of a small bluff overlooking U.S. 12. It originally was only a few footsteps off the “Old Sauk” Native American trail, which became U.S. 12 and was the main route for connecting Detroit and Chicago. The tavern quickly became a gathering place where travelers making the grueling five-day trip could rest, enjoy a meal or stay the night. The Michigan History Center has operated the tavern as a historic site since 1965.

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Anna Howard Shaw

Posted on June 11, 2024 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in people .

This statue of a woman in a Victorian era dress stands next to the library in Big Rapids. It is of Anna Howard Shaw who was born in England on February 14, 1847. At the age of four, her family immigrated to America. In 1859, her father moved the family to a wilderness tract just north of Big Rapids, Michigan. He mother envisioned an idyllic farm but it was a log cabin in a rustic and remote wilderness. Her father soon returned east with two of his sons, leaving behind his wife and four younger children to endure extreme hardship on their 360-acre claim. Forced to take on traditionally male roles to survive, Anna believed women were equal to men. She attended school in Big Rapids and became a teacher at age 15. in 1873, she enrolled in Albion College in Albion, Michigan.
In 1876, Shaw entered the School of Theology at Boston University and studied to be a minister. She was the only woman in a class of 42 men and she became the first fully ordained woman minister in the history of the Methodist Church. While engaged in an active ministry at two churches, she graduated from Boston University School of Medicine in 1885.
Shaw was a popular lecturer for the temperance movement and for the cause of women’s suffrage fighting for the right for women to vote. She became Susan B. Anthony’s chief lieutenant in the National American Woman Suffrage Association and succeeded her as president of the Association in 1904. In 1917, she was appointed as chair of the Women’s Committee of the Council of National Defense. As a result of her work on the Council, she became the first woman ever to receive the Distinguished Service Medal, which bestowed upon her by President Woodrow Wilson. Anna Howard Shaw died in 1919 while on a lecture tour for world peace. Her death came just a year before ratification of the 19th Amendment, for which she had labored most of her adult life. Her remains were cremated and the ashes given to her family. The statue in Big Rapids stands as a reminder of the remarkable woman that grew up in the Michigan wilderness.

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Herman: Then and Now

Posted on June 7, 2024 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Ghost towns, small towns, upper peninsula .

While doing research for my Michigan Ghost Town book I came across an old photo of the town of Herman from the 1940s. The town is in the Huron Mountains southeast of L’Anse. I recognized the old store next to the railroad tracks in the old photo.

The town has changed a lot in the past 80 plus years. The buildings on the left are gone and the nice looking building on the right is slowly collapsing. You can see my post about it HERE

Its interesting to see pics of the way things were and compare them to what there is now. I wish I could go back in time to visit some of the places I have posted about but the closest I can come to doing that is looking at old photographs.

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Old North Fairview School

Posted on June 5, 2024 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Schools .

The Steiner Pioneer and Logging Museum sits along M-33 north of Fairview in the northeast Lower Peninsula. The Old North Fairview School sits on the museum’s property to remind people of a time when kids went to one room schoolhouses. The log school was built in 1895 and it was moved to the museum to save it for future generations to learn about the area’s history.

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The I-75 Draw Bridge

Posted on June 2, 2024 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Bridges .

The Niagara passing under the old I-75 drawbridge and the new Zilwaukee bridge in the background under construction.

Before the Zilwaukee bridge was opened to traffic in December of 1987 a draw bridge was built over the Saginaw River for I-75. It opened daily for the Niagara nicknamed “The Sandsucker” It sucked sand off the bottom of Lake Huron for the General Motors Iron Foundry and traveled to Saginaw nearly every day. When the draw bridge opened for ships, traffic would be backed up for miles, especially on a holiday weekend. It took nine years to build the current Zilwaukee Bridge. The ironic thing is by the time the bridge was finished, the foundry no longer used the Niagara to get sand and ships occasionally came that far up into the river.

I grew up in the shadow of the bridge in the the township of Carrollton. I still remember the traffic backups as a kid and my dad traveling through downtowns Saginaw to avoid the highway. I still live close to the Z-bridge, but I rarely travel over it because of where my house is located off I-675. I could not even imagine what traffic would be like if the old draw bridge was there today and opened on a holiday weekend.

P.S. An interesting thing to note is how Zilwaukee got its name. In 1854 Zilwaukee Township was formed and as the story goes the village was named Zilwaukee with the hopes it would confuse immigrants coming into New York thinking they are going to Milwaukee Wisconsin.

If you love reading about strange Michigan history or exploring the Great Lakes State, I hope you will take a look at Lost In Michigan books. They make for a great Father’s Day gift. I just released my Lost In Michigan’s Ghost Town book available on Amazon HERE

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