Author Archives: Mike Sonnenberg

Calendar Giveaway

Posted on by Posted in Giveaways .

It has been a while since I have done a giveaway to all my subscribers so here is your chance to win a 2020 Lighthouse wall calendar. You have to be an email subscriber to win so if you have not subscribed to Lost In Michigan, you can do it HERE or down below

Leave a comment on this post in the section below and I will choose a winner at random from the comments. I will post the winner in a post on Tuesday, November 19th. Thank you to all of you for taking the time to read my posts. I do my best to keep them interesting and random and hope you look forward to getting my daily email.

I am down to my last box of Lost In Michigan calendars and I am not sure if I will have time to get more printed before the end of the year so If you want a calendar now is a good time at order one from my website HERE

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Barn Find

Posted on by Posted in autumn, Barns and Farms .

I stumbled across this barn while hiking in the Louis M. Groen Nature Preserve near Gaylord. It’s one of my favorite photos from this fall. I wish the leaves would stay at peak longer, but I guess that is what makes Autumn so special.

Lost In Michigan T-Shirts are available to order for a limited time. Some people have asked me for them. I made some and you can order them until Nov. 20th. After that, I have two bazaars in Bay City at Handy on Nov 23rd and in Saginaw at Arthur Hill on December 7th. It’s too hard for me to keep track of inventory while I am doing bazaars. If you want a shirt now is the time to order one

If you want a shirt while they are ON SALE you can order them HERE

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Autumn is Over

Posted on by Posted in Forgotten Places, Winter Wonderland .

Autumn has come and gone. I get asked when is my favorite time of year to photograph and without hesitation it is Autumn. The vibrant color like nature’s fireworks only happens for a short time and then it’s only memories until next year. I know winter does not officially start until December 21st but it feels like it has started already.

The perfect day for me is a warm day with the sun shining on gold, red and yellow leaves. looks like I will have to wait about a year for that day again. In the meantime, I do have more Autumn photos to share. Thank you all for taking the time to read my posts.

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An Old Sawmill

Posted on by Posted in Mills, small towns .

While driving through the town of Blanchard this old barn looking building caught my eye. Because it’s next to a dam on a creek and it has Dewitt Lumber Co on the side I can only assume it was a sawmill. According to its website, Dewitt Lumber Company is the oldest family-owned lumber supplier in Michigan. It was started in Blanchard in 1890. It is interesting the things you find and learn on a road trip to somewhere you have never been to before.

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The Hard Scrabble Ghost Town of Keno

Posted on by Posted in Forgotten Places, Ghost towns .

Heading north out of St. Helen I went past this old building. I am not sure if it was a school, boarding house, or what. It looks like it has been standing for a long time. I looked on the map and it shows the name of Keno. I am wondering if it is the last remaining structure from the forgotten town.

From the research I did, I found out that the area was originally known as Hard Scrabble. The Hyde family came to the area from Virginia and were early settlers. The town was given the name of Keno and Sarah O. Wheeler became the first postmaster in 1910. I am not sure what happened to the town in later years, I can only assume the timber was cut and lumberjacks moved away.

P.S. They should have kept the name Hard Scrabble. I am thinking no one would forget a town with such a tough-sounding name.

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Ballentine House

Posted on by Posted in Houses .

I was roaming around Port Huron and I came upon this beautiful old victorian house. The sign out front read “Ballentine House Bed and Breakfast.” The house is named after Silas Ballentine who built it in the 1860s. He was the founder of Ballentine Dry Goods, which operated for nearly 100 years in Port Huron.

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Ghost Town Church

Posted on by Posted in autumn, Churches .

The town of Wildwood shows up on the map near Indian River. Not much is standing in the town. A few houses and this old church. I posted a photo of it a few years ago when it was in rough shape, you can see it HERE. It’s nice to see someone is taking care of the old church and put a fresh coat of paint on it.

Lost In Michigan books are ON SALE this weekend, you can order your copy HERE

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Saint Joseph County Courthouse

Posted on by Posted in courthouses .

The Saint Joseph county courthouse stands tall in the middle of Centerville, The historical marker in front tells the story of this magnificent building and reads:

Michigan Territorial Governor George B. Porter proclaimed Centreville the St. Joseph County seat on November 22, 1831. Robert Clark Jr., Electra W. Dean, Charles Noble and Daniel B. Miller donated the public square and fifty-six additional lots to the county. The first courthouse, a Greek Revival structure with four large columns on its east portico, was built in the center of the square in 1842 by John Bryan. That building was removed in 1899, to make way for the present red brick and sandstone courthouse, whose construction began on September 8 of that year. Grand Rapids architect Sydney J. Osgood designed the Romanesque Revival structure, and Coldwater contractors Crookshank and Somers built it at a cost of $33,000.

The present St. Joseph County courthouse was dedicated on August 1, 1900. Its Romanesque Revival design creates a commodious, well-lighted, solid building that echoes the justice and stability it represents. Marble floors. wide spacious stairs, ornately carved woodwork, frosted glass doors, and three wall murals still grace the little-altered interior. The clock, whose faces are five and one-half feet in diameter, was purchased by the village of Centreville for $850 and placed in the seventy-five-foot tower prior to the completion of the courthouse. When the building became too small to accommodate all of the government offices, a new court building was constructed on the south side of the public square. The courthouse, however, remains the seat of government.

I have been slowly accumulating photos of all the county courthouses. In my hometown of Saginaw, the historic Victorian-era courthouse was demolished in the 1960s. There was nothing wrong with the building, the county just wanted something more modern looking, The new courthouse is a rather boring looking building. If you live somewhere with a historic courthouse or city hall I hope the community appreciates the history and architecture.

If you live near Omer I hope you will come out to my presentation on Monday, November 4th at the historic Masonic Lodge at 7 pm.

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Dollar Settlement

Posted on by Posted in autumn, Forgotten Places, upper peninsula .

Traveling down the road that follows the Lake Superior shoreline I came across this old Pullman car. It’s somewhere between Brimley and Paradise. According to the map, the town is or at least was Dollar Settlement. I could not find any info about this sparsely populated town. Someone told me that the old railroad car was brought in to convert to a diner, but it never materialized. Now it just sits in Dollar Settlement watching tourists pass by.

PS. I saw once were Robert Dollar the founder of Dollarville near Newberry built a dock on Lake Superior for his sawmill and lumber company. I am guessing that is where Dollar Settlement got its name from, but I have never been able to confirm it.

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Applegate Barn

Posted on by Posted in autumn, Barns and Farms, Thumb .

I was zig-zagging my way across the Thumb when I saw this old barn hanging out with the Autumn trees. I could not tell you where it is located or probably even find it again. I was not paying close attention to the names of the roads I was traveling down. I know it is somewhere near Applegate but don’t ask me where I am just wondering a traveler seeing what I can discover along the way. There is no better place to get lost than Michigan in Autumn.

“Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves.” Henry David Thoreau

Reminder: My next presentation will be in Omer on Monday, November 4th at the historic Masonic Lodge at 7 pm.

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