I saw this old barn in the thumb with the sign “THINK USA” then I realized I was in the Unionville Sebewaing Area which just so happens to also be in the USA. I am thankful to live in a country where I am free to roam around and take photos.
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The unofficial motto of the U.S. Lifesaving Service was “You have to go out; you don’t have to come back.” Vermillion Point that was the most remote and desolate lifesaving station around the Great Lakes. Located on the shores of Lake Superior in Whitefish Point the station was situated between Crisp Point Lighthouse and Whitefish Point Lighthouse. The men and their families stationed in the remote outpost referred to it as the Alcatraz of the Lifesaving Service.
The station began operation in 1876 and received supplies by boat. In the wintertime, supplies were delivered by dog sled to the isolated place far from any town. The station remained in operation until 1944 when it was abandoned. The buildings were left to defend themselves from the harsh northern Michigan weather. In the early 1970s, the Vermilion Life Saving Station and the surrounding 1.5 miles undeveloped shoreline was privately purchased for preservation and restoration. Many of the buildings’ exteriors have been restored. The one in the photograph is one of the remaining buildings to be restored by the non-profit group S.O.S. Vermillion.
The property is open to the public for quiet recreation. No motorized vehicles are allowed on the preserve and the areas around piping plover nests and bird-trapping nets are restricted. It is about a 10 mile drive down sandy forest roads to reach Vermillion Point. It’s worth the trip, but I suggest doing it in the summer or fall when it is dry. The first trip I tried to make to the point the road was flooded over about a mile from the parking lot and I had to turn around.
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A while back I posted about a small one-man town near Grayling called Coopersville. Many people let me know that there is an actual town called Coopersville. Since I was near it recently I had to take a trip through the town of Coopersville between Grand Rapids and Grand Haven. I thought it was a beautiful town, but I did not have much time to explore it, so I guess I will have to take a trip back to it sometime now that I know where it is.
You can check out my post on the other Coopersville HERE
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I usually post a photo of a church on Sunday, but this being one of the most famous Sundays I was not sure which one to post. I figured I would post my favorite place to go for a religious experience. I think a nice walk through nature is a good way to replenish your soul and remind yourself how beautiful this world is. I am fortunate to live in Michigan which has so much public land to explore. It won’t be long and it will be green again. Michigan in April tends to be a bit rainy and gray. That is why I take a lot of photos of houses and buildings in towns and cities. I have some places in the forests and parks I want to visit and photograph, but I am waiting for the trees to come alive with green leaves.
If you are wondering this pic is from Ringwood Forest, a Saginaw County park near St Charles.
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I saw this beautiful old house in Kalamazoo, I don’t know anything about its history, but I liked it, so took a pic of it. I like the curved glass windows that wrap around near the front porch. I wonder if you can find a craftsman or craftswoman who can even make windows like that anymore.
P.S. yeah I know it’s kind of a gloomy looking pic but it’s been a gloomy Michigan Spring.
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You could possibly call it a ghost town but a few people still live in Palms located in the Thumb between Cass City and Lake Huron. I figured a name like palms it was named after the palm tree but as any astute Michigander will tell you there are no palm trees in Michigan. The village was settled in 1850 by Canadians John Smith & Michael Dyer. It was businessman Francis Palms who owned most of the land for timber, and when he brought the railroad to the little community in 1881 they named the town in his honor.
Palms owned the most land in Michigan in the mid-1800s in both the Lower and Upper Peninsulas. After harvesting the timber he sold the land but retained the mineral rights. He made a fortune off the copper that was discovered under the property he once owned. He was the president of the Michigan Stove Company and vice president of the Detroit, Mackinac and Marquette Railroad. At the time of his death, his estate and savings were worth over ten million dollars. The largest estate in Michigan at the time.
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St. Stanislaus Kostka Roman Catholic Church stands in the south side of Bay City. It’s twin spires stand tall overlooking the houses like guardian angels. A historical marker in front gives a little bit of history about the church and reads:
In the second half of the nineteenth century, Polish refugees who escaped Prussian domination settled in Bay City. In 1874 they formed a society under the patronage of St. Stanislaus Kostka of Poland. To fill the needs of this Polish-speaking community, a wooden church was built and dedicated on December 13, 1874, on a site donated by William D. Fitzhugh. During the pastorate of Father Marian Matkowski, this grand Neo-Gothic church was erected at a cost of over $60,000. Bay City architects Pratt and Koeppe provided the plans. The cornerstone was blessed on June 24, 1890, and the church was dedicated on July 17, 1892, by Bishop Henry J. Richter of Grand Rapids.
The beauty and detailed work of these old churches always amaze me. I can’t imagine how difficult it was to build way back before modern construction techniques.
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I visit a lot of cemeteries while out doing research looking for forgotten places. Many times all that remains of an old lumbering town is the cemetery. When I drove through the Tyrone Memorial Gardens near Fenton I was struck by the beauty of the sculptures placed around the tombstones. Most cemeteries have the standard statues and are similar since they probably purchased them from a monument supplier. I was mesmerized by the beauty and color of the statues that adorn the grounds.
I found out that they are no ordinary statues because they were created by artist and sculptor Robert St. Croix, He was raised in Michigan and graduated from Plymouth High School and Wayne State University. His mother is laid to rest in the cemetery and he was commissioned to create nine sculptures. The most notable is the sculpture of an angel holding up a golden urn towards the sky. It was created in the likeness of the artist’s mother.
Tyrone Memorial Gardens is also home to the Tyrone Sunken Gardens which you can read about in my post HERE
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Dutch immigrants first settled in Holland, Michigan in 1847, and they immediately established The First Reformed Church with the Reverend Albertus Van Raalte as pastor. Over the next few years, a second Reformed congregation was established, but by the mid-1860s, the continued influx of Dutch immigrants strained the capacity of both churches. By 1866, Van Raalte recommended that the First Reformed Church be split. In 1867, the Third Reformed Church was organized and construction started on a new church building at this site. The church building was dedicated on February 14, 1868.
However, on October 8, 1871, two-thirds of Holland was destroyed by forest fires which had been burning for several weeks in areas surrounding the town. The recently constructed church was one of the first buildings destroyed. The congregation resolved to rebuild, and hired local architect John R. Kleyn to design this building. Despite setbacks, the new church was dedicated on November 25, 1874. The church has been continuously used by the congregation, and underwent a major renovation in 1967-68.
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This old historic mansion sits on top of a hill overlooking the railroad tracks that pass through Ypsilanti. The second empire style house with its mansard roof was built in 1861 by John Gilbert. He made a fortune in the lumber industry. The house has a four-story tower on the back side that overlooks Ypsilanti. The house sat vacant and boarded up for many years in the 80s but has been recently restored and turned into apartments.
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