McCourtie Park is in the town of Somerset Center in southern Michigan along US-12. The park was originally the estate of businessman  W. H. L. McCourtie. He hired Mexican artisans George Cardoso and Ralph Corona to construct seventeen bridges on his property. They sculpted them out of concrete to look like natural wood. The house is gone but the bridges remain and are now part of a public park. It is a nice place to stop and take a break and check out these beautiful little bridges.

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On US-23 between Au Gres and Tawas is a bridge that crosses the east branch of the Au Gres River and has been given the nickname “The Singing Bridge.” When I was younger most people knew it as the place to party while smelt dipping. If you ask someone who grew up in the Saginaw Valley region in the ’70s and went smelt dipping, they will probably tell you all sorts of stories of massive parties at the Singing Bridge. I am not sure how true they are, but the smelt used to run heavily in the area years ago and would draw crowds to dip for smelt when they were running.

Legend has it the bridge got its moniker from the wood or metal decking that it had decades ago. As cars drove across it the tires would hum from the texture of the road. I think MDOT should add grooves to the bridge and make it sing once again like in this video HERE. The big question would be what song would it play. I say the U of M fight song, but I think Spartan fans would disagree. Maybe U of M one way and MSU the other.

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Michigan has a few historic wooden covered bridges but this one about twenty miles from the Indiana border is almost the length of a football field.  Spaning across the St Joeseph River the Langley Bridge 282 feet long. It was built in 1887 by Pierce Bodmer of Parkville, using the best quality white pine for the frame timbers. The bridge was named after a family in the nearby town of Centreville. When the Sturgis Dam was built in 1910, the Langley Bridge had to be raised eight feet. In 1950-51 extensive repairs and replacement of parts on the bridge were done to preserve this historic bridge which is still a vital river crossing.

The bridge is a one-lane bridge and is interesting to drive through. You have to be sure a car is not entering from the other direction before you enter otherwise someone is backing up a long distance. If you are in the area be sure to take a trip across this historic bridge. It would make for an excellent drive in the Fall when the leaves are at their peak along the St Joseph River.

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The Cut River Bridge on US-2 passes over the Cut River which carved a gorge into the landscape over the several centries it has flowed into Lake Michigan. From the topside, it seems like most bridges. But if you stop at the rest area next to the bridge, you can walk down underneath it and see the myriad of green steel girders.

It’s near the town of Epoufette about 25 miles west of St. Ignace. Construction of the bridge began in 1941 but was halted during WWII. The 641 foot long bridge was finally compleated in 1947. Under the east end of the bridge is a wooden door in the stone foundation. A brass plate on the door reads ” T. Troll ” I am not sure if it is their office or home, but whenever I knocked they never answered.

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On US-12 in the town of Somerset Center is McCourtie Park. The park has some wonderful concrete bridges that span a little creek which flows through the park. A Historical marker tells the stories of these bridges and the park:

Somerset Center native W. H. L. McCourtie (1872 – 1933) was introduced to the cement industry by W. F. Cowham of Jackson in 1897. McCourtie soon went to Dallas, Texas, where he made a fortune speculating in oil and established the Trinity Portland Cement Company. During the 1920s McCourtie returned to Somerset Center. In 1924 he acquired his family’s home and turned it into a community showplace. McCourtie sought to create a model town. He gave free white paint to any home owner that needed it. He also hosted the community’s annual homecoming celebration. Thousands of people came to “Aiden Lair” to witness stunt flyers and enjoy baseball, local musicians, dancing and unlimited refreshments. At the height of the Great Depression, McCourtie offered his estate as a place “Where Friends Meet Friends and Part More Friendly.”

The W. H. L. McCourtie Estate may contain the country’s largest collection of el trabeio rustico, the Mexican folk tradition of sculpting concrete to look like wood. Around 1930, most likely inspired by work he had seen in Texas, cement tycoon W. H. L. McCourtie hired itinerant Mexican artisans George Cardoso and Ralph Corona to construct seventeen bridges on his property. The artisans formed the bridges with steel rods and then hand sculpted wet concrete to resemble planed lumber, rough logs, thatch, and rope. Different species of trees can be identified. Two concrete trees that stand on the property continue to serve as chimneys for the underground rathskellar and garage. The McCourtie estate is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

What the marker does not tell is that the estate included an underground lair and during prohibition, it operated as a speakeasy and even Al Capone was said to have visited it.  After McCourtie died in 1933 the estate changed hands a few times but the owners were not able to maintain the property and in 1987 the township purchased the property and razed the house. It is now a park and if you are ever in the area be sure to stop by and visit it.

P.S. There is a lot more to the story but I think I am writing about it in Volume 3 of my Lost In Michigan books. If you are wondering I started working on it and hope to have it available this fall (September 2019). I was busy working on my Camp Michigan book which you can see HERE

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