Author Archives: Mike Sonnenberg

The Office

Posted on by Posted in Iconic Buildings .

North of downtown Flint near the Flint River is this two-story brick building. It is not ornately decorated with victorian ara trim, nor is it extremely large but it is an important starting point for one of America’s largest companies. It was constructed in 1895 to be used as an office and showroom for the Durant-Dort Carriage Company.  In 1915 the company became the Dort Motor Car Company manufacturing four different models of cars until production ended in 1924. It was Dort’s partner William Durant that went on to consolidate several automobile manufacturers into General Motors.

Over time the building went through a few different ownerships and configurations. It even had a third story floor and flat roof added to it. In the 80s, the Genesee County Historical Society restored the building to its original construction. In 2013 GM purchased the building and designated it a General Motors heritage site.

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Cherry Hill School

Posted on by Posted in Schools .

West of Canton is this white painted brick schoolhouse. A historical marker stands nearby and reads:

In 1876 this Italianate schoolhouse replaced a log school, built in 1836 and known officially as Canton Fractional No. 1 School. In 1944 Henry Ford, who operated a small factory in Cherry Hill, paid for an addition to this building, as well as for the salary for a second teacher. The school became part of Ford’s Greenfield Village School System where students benefitted from art, music, and dance curricula. Cherry Hill School was absorbed by the Plymouth School District in 1955.

What the marker does not mention is that the small Ford factory in Cherry Hill mainly hired workers that were disabled. Many of them veterans of WWII. At one time Ford had employed 12,000 disabled workers at Cherry Hill and provided living quarters, education and career training.

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Tank Shack

Posted on by Posted in Barns and Farms, Winter Wonderland .

I saw this old shack with a rusty tank next to it in an old farm field north of Mancelona. I grew up in the city and not sure what it was used for maybe a pump house or fuel for the tractor? I don’t know but it looked peaceful in the snow.

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Winter on the Farm

Posted on by Posted in Barns and Farms, Winter Wonderland .

I saw this old piece of farm equipment at the Hartley Nature Center Farm. I am not sure what it is but someone told be it was a silo shooter or something like that. It was use to fill silos with grain.

I want to say thank you to all of you for the kind and supportive New Year’s Comments. I don’t normally respond to comments because I get a lot and it is time consuming for me but I do enjoy reading them. I have been in Florida for the past few weeks visiting relitives. Yes I stopped at a few places along the way and took some pics. I would have done more but my family gets bored sitting in the car waiting for me. I hope yo someday start another website with the places I find while lost outside of Michigan. Maybe this summer I will have it actived and enought content to start posting.

Thank You all so much for taking the time to read my posts and I hope you have a happy and healthy new year.

P.S. If you need a calendar for this year the Lost In Michigan calendars ar 50% OFF at zazzle.com. you can see them by clicking HERE. 

P.P.S. Thank you to all the people who purchased a calendar or book. They help me with expenses to create this website and its content. It really means a lot that you care enough to help support what I do.

The Desolate Church

Posted on by Posted in Churches, Forgotten Places .

I saw this old abandoned church standing around the empty farm fields. It’s south of Union City and unfortunately, I don’t know any its history. On the stone above the door, it shows 1878. The grass is mowed around the old church so someone is taking care of it in its remaining years, but it looks as if it has been a while since a service was held inside.  Strangely I looked on the map and there isn’t a name of a town nearby either. I thought that was strange for a large brick church, but I guess the town was not large enough for a name and the church was left all alone.

 

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Freiburg School

Posted on by Posted in Schools .

This old yellow brick schoolhouse stands in the middle of the thumb near Cass City. It is or was the Freiburg School. It looks as if it has been a long time since classes were held in this school. It is privately owned and I took a few pics from the road.

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A New Year

Posted on by Posted in Uncategorized .

Michigan Snow Road

It’s a new year and I am not sure what it will bring, where I will go or what I will visit. I hope this year will be a prosperous one but only time will tell. One thing I am contemplating is expanding my travels outside of Michigan. I will always be doing posts around the Great Lakes state since it is my home but I am thinking about heading into Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin and other states to see what interesting places I can find.

I hope you have a wonderful New Year and I wish you prosperity and happiness.

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Year’s End

Posted on by Posted in Uncategorized .

The earth has made another trip around the sun and another year has come to an end. It seems as if there is never enough time to travel to all the places I want to visit but I did take a Sheplers lighthouse tour and see some of the offshore lighthouses to check off my lighthouse list. I also made it to Mt. Arvon, the highest point in Michigan. I am thankful that you could follow my journey around the Great Lakes State and hope that you had a great year. The past few years have been challenging but I am going to stay hopeful and optimistic that things will get better.

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The Leelanau Barns

Posted on by Posted in Barns and Farms, Winter Wonderland .

A group of red barns stand in the Leelanau Peninsula north of Northport near the tip of the peninsula. I am not sure if is or was part of a cherry orchard but the bright red stands out the white snow of winter.

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Alden’s Depot

Posted on by Posted in Train Depots .

Alden is a beautiful little tourist town on the east side of Torch Lake. It’s probably most known for the Alden Mill House but I also like this old train depot south of town. A historical marker next to it reads:

In 1891-92 the Chicago and West Michigan Railway, precursor to the Pere Marquette Railroad, extended the line between Traverse City and Petoskey through Spencer Creek. William Alden Smith, the railway’s general counsel, advocated the line through Spencer Creek, and in 1891 the town renamed Alden in his honor. Its location aided travel and shipping between Chicago and Petosky, supporting agriculture, lumbering and eventually tourism. The Pere Marquette built this depot in 1907 to replace one that burned in 1906. Northern Michigan newspapers called it the railroad’s finest depot north of Grand Rapids. In 1981 the last train left Alden. Helena Township acquired the depot in 1986.

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