the small town of Alba sits in northern lower Michigan near Mancelona. It is situated in Star Township and the first township hall built in 1897 still stands in Alba..
Reminder: I will be at the Tyrone Township Hall giving a presentation this Saturday January 29th from 2-4 pm 8420 Runyan Lake Road, Fenton, MI 48430
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Michigan officially became a state on January 26th 1837. One of the most influential cities in Michigan is the state’s capital city of Lansing. Strangely, when Michigan first became a state Lansing was not much more than swampland. Michigan’s constitution required the state have a permanent capital ten years after it acquired statehood. The temporary capital was in Detroit, but many representatives wanted somewhere more central in the state. Several cities including Jackson, Marshall, and Ann Arbor lobbied hard to be the new home of the capital.
James Seymour, a land speculator with a mill in what is now North Lansing, campaigned for Lansing Township. He argued that it is equidistant from Detroit, Monroe, Mt. Clemens, and the mouths of the Grand and Kalamazoo rivers. In 1847, after voting fifty one times, out of frustration they finally agreed the permanent capital would be in Lansing township. The densely wooded and marshy township had less than one hundred residents when it was chosen.
The citizens of Michigan were highly skeptical of the new plan, many even though it was a joke. In the beginning, the city did not even have a name. The location was simply known as the “Town of Michigan” when it was first platted. A wooden two-story building was quickly erected to serve as the state capital. Many of the legislators and representatives had to sleep on the upper floor of the new capital or in people’s private homes while governing the young state. In April the state legislature considered naming the capital Pewanogowink, Swedenborg, or El Dorado, but chose Lansing.
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When I was a kid growing up in the 70s and 80s we would hang out at the mall in the winter since there was not a lot to do on a cold Michigan day in the suburbs. You could put some quarters in Galaga and check out the CDs at the music store and get a snack. I saw this old General Store at the Sanford Centennial Museum and it got me thinking about what It must have been like back then. That must have been a big deal to go to the store with the horse and wagon. Inside the clerk with his white shirt and apron was stocking the shelves. A couple of old farmers in overalls sitting around a barrel next to the pot belly stove playing checkers talking about what crops they are going to plant in the spring. If we’re lucky maybe mom will get us some penny candy.
This was L.P. Larson’s General Store in Olsen. It was moved by the Sanford Historical Society to its current location at the Museum. To check out the old photos of the store and the history of the building at the society’s website click on the link HERE
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I mentioned a while ago that I was looking to explore beyond Michigan. I am exited and nervous to announce my new website www.LostintheStates.com. I feel like I am biting off more that I can chew, but I had that same feeling about 10 years ago when I started Lost In Michigan. I still plan on posting daily to Lost In Michigan but figured it was time to start my new website since I have stories outside of the Great Lakes State that I want to share.
Thank you all so much for your support and kindness. It is a lot of fun posting my stories of Michigan and I am looking forward to sharing locations and stories from other states.
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I was traveling through southern Michigan and I went through the town of Girard. I saw this old building which I can only assume was a church. The stained glass above the door prominently displays the date 1876. A hundred years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. I can only imagine what the town was like back then.
As with most of the places I visit I did a little research to find out some history of the town and as usual I learned something new. The town was named after Stephen Girard. The fourth wealthiest person in United States history. Born in 1750 in France he was a sea captain transporting good between France and the port of New Orleans. In 1776 the British forced his ship into the port of Philadelphia where he settled there as a merchant. He eventually worked his way up to purchasing the First Bank of the United States. Towards the end of the war of 1812, when the financial credit of the U.S. government was at its lowest, Girard placed nearly all of his resources at the disposal of the government and underwrote up to 95 percent of the war loan issued, which enabled the United States to carry on with the war.
Girard was struck by a horse and carriage and died in 1831. At the time of his death, Girard was the wealthiest man in America and he bequeathed nearly his entire fortune to charitable and municipal institutions of Philadelphia and New Orleans. It including an endowment for establishing a boarding school for “poor, male, white orphans” in Philadelphia, primarily those who were the children of coal miners, which opened as the Girard College in 1848.
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Completed in 1858 the Point Betsie Lighthouse, north of Frankfort, is the oldest building in Benzie County. Standing along the shores of Lake Michigan marking the southern entrance to the Manitou Passage. In 1875 one of the first life saving stations was established by the U. S. Life Saving Service at the lighthouse. This was the last manned lighthouse on Lake Michigan, and the last Michigan lighthouse to lose its keeper after it was automated in 1982. It is a unique looking lighthouse with its red gambrel roof and green trim.
If you love lighthouses I hope you will take a look at my new Lighthouse book HERE
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This grand old house is a few blocks from downtown Monroe. It was built in 1873 by Dr. Sawyer. His daughter Jenny Toll Sawyer lived in the house and then donated it to the city of Monroe in 1938 which it still owns today. The Sawyer Homestead is used for events such as weddings, showers and receptions with the proceeds going to maintenance of the historic house.
Lost In Michigan books are ON SALE this weekend on Amazon HERE
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Just outside of Hancock in the Keweenaw Peninsula is the old Quincy Mine. It’s not hard to miss the massive lift tower that can be seen from Houghton. These old coble stone ruins sit on the property along with a few other decaying buildings. One of these days I am gonna take the tour and see more of it. The few time I have been in the area it was out of season and they did not have tours available and I was short on time. I wish the western side of the U.P. was not so far away from my hometown.
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The Linden Mills were a vital source of this village’s economic growth. The first mill, located on land granted to Consider Warner, was used to cut lumber. From 1845-1850 Seth Sadler and Samuel W. Warren, local residents, erected both a saw and grist mill. Operating along with the earlier facility, this complex was called the Linden Mills. The grist mill continued to function for over a century until the machinery was dismantled and sold at auction in 1956. The village then purchased the building for municipal offices and a public Library.
Reminder: If you live in the Fenton area I will be giving a presentation on
January 29th from 2-4 pm
8420 Runyan Lake Road, Fenton, MI 48430
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I saw this old schoolhouse somewhere near Evart. It looks as if someone has started fixing it up but it has a long way to go yet. It amazes me how many old schoolhouses I see across Michigan and it is nice that some of them have been saved and restored. I am thinking students today have no idea of what it was like a century ago long before technology.
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