Lakeside Cemetery was established in 1877 when the city of Port Huron, purchased 148 acres from local resident John Hoffman. The Soldiers’ Lots were donated to the United States in 1881, when 135 remains from Old Fort Gratiot were re-interred at the cemetery. There were two installations known as Fort Gratiot; the first dated from 1814-1821, the second from 1828-1879. Both were located on the same site, on the west bank of the St. Clair River, approximately two miles south of Lakeside Cemetery. Of the 135 interments in the soldiers’ lot, only 35 are known. On July 7, 1884, the federal government dedicated a monument at the Lakeside Cemetery Soldiers’ Lot to honor the unknown soldiers from Fort Gratiot who fell victims to the cholera epidemic, July 4, to 18, 1832.

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Rows of simple wooden crosses mark the Odawa Indians Laid to rest in the Middle Village Cemetery near Good Hart on M119, between Harbor Springs and Cross Village. The village is along the ” Tunnel of Trees” route that follows the shoreline of lake Michigan. I am not sure if there is an official ranking of cemeteries, but what I do know, is it sure was a beautiful place when I visited it.

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When traveling around Michigan I visit many towns and cities of all sizes. While I am exploring I will take a quick tour of the cemetery, especially if it has old tombstones. I was in the town of Leonidas and I saw this old cemetery not far from town. In a quiet section near the front of the cemetery stands this simple stone marker that has THOMAS WEST 1808-1883 carved into it.  I don’t know his story but I do know an American flag is planted beside his marker and proudly waves in the breeze commemorating his service to our county. It does not matter if a veteran is buried in the largest national cemetery in the county or laid to rest in a simple grave in a remote part of the world their sacrifice deserves to be remembered.

P.S. If you have been following my posts for a while you know I have been posting pics from my archive. This is the time I would normally be posting from my archive even if everything in the world was as life as normal. As I travel throughout the year I take pics of different cemeteries, monuments, and memorials to post near Memorial Day. Just to let you know for the next few days you will be seeing some of my pics I have taken in the past year that I have been waiting to post for this time of year. I guess I am telling you this because I like to keep the subjects of my posts somewhat random but this week they may be somewhat similar just different locations.

Thank you all for taking the time to read my posts and I hope you enjoy what I write.

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Most of the tombstones in Tucker Cemetery are broken or completely missing. This one for Ashel Atherton dated 1884 is one of just a couple that still remains standing. Hidden in the sparsely populated woods in the Ogemaw Hills, the cemetery is left over from the lumbering days. It is northwest of Rose City off a sandy forest trail and forgotten by most people. It is kind of an eerie sight to come across to see this old cemetery so far from civilization if you are out riding the trails in an ORV.

Time to announce the winner of the Camp Michigan books. Thank you to everyone who commented. it was so nice to read all the kind and supportive comments. Congratulations to Elizabeth Dewar she is the winner, please email me at mike@huronphoto.com with your address and I will send out your books.

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Northwest of Brimley along the Lake Superior shoreline is Bay Mills. The area is home to the Bay Mills Indian tribe. Along the road is an old Indian Cemetery and according to the sign in the back it was established in 1841.

The graves are covered with wooden spirit houses. The wooden houses are built to protect the body as the soul passes to the spirit world. Many times relatives would leave food and tools for the deceased loved one to use as they travel to the spirit world.

The cemetery is not open to the public but it is next to the road. I took this pic from the fence. Sometimes I will see spirit houses in other cemeteries, especially in northern Michigan. Next time you are out exploring the mitten state and you see an old cemetery with wooden houses now you will know what they are if you didn’t already.

This Saturday ( Nov 23rd ) I will be at Handy Middle School in Bay City for their annual bazaar. I will be selling books, calendars, and T-Shirts. I hope you will stop by if you are in the neighborhood.

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Twenty-six solitary headstones are lined up In a section of Fort Custer National Cemetery. They mark the graves of German Prisoners of War that died in Michigan while being held in POW camps. Sixteen of the men were killed on October 31st, 1945 when their truck pulled in front of a train. The men were returning from working in a beet field in Blissfield Michigan, The violent crash killed the german men and Pfc Edward B. Loughrin who was assigned to guard the men. He was buried in his hometown of Cadillac Michigan.

The rest of the Germans buried at Fort Custer National Cemetery died of natural causes other than one who was killed when a wire snapped while on work detail. Michigan had approximately 30 POW camps during WWII. Most of the men were captured Germans from Africa. They worked the fields and lumbermills and most where model prisoners. For most, being a POW working in the fields was better than being shot at in the war. Many of the men emigrated back to the US after the war.

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Saint Ann’s Cemetery on Mackinac Island in behind the fort near Skull Cave. It was not always at this location. I was originally next to Ste Anne’s Catholic Church near downtown. One of the oldest headstones in the cemetery is for Mary Biddle, She was eight years old when she fell through the ice and died in 1833. In the 1850s the cemetery could no longer accept new burials because it could not expand into the city. The bodies were exhumed and moved to the current cemetery further into the island.

Years later after the cemetery was moved, headstones were found among the weeds at the old location. Workers found them before construction of the buildings that now stand near the church. It makes you wonder how thorough they were at moving the bodies of those laid to rest. One thing that is odd about the cemetery is the name. On the gate, it reads St Ann’s Cemetery but the church is Ste. Anne’s. Legend also has it the gate was build to accomadate a horse-drawn hearse but they forgot about the driver. That fueled the legend of the headless horseman or in this case hearseman.

It is a beautiful old cemetery and the carriage tours travel along the road next to it. And if you are wondering, To be laid to rest in the cemetery you either need to have been born on the island or been a resident or owned a business on the island for more than 15 years

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