Near the tip of the thumb along the Lake Huron shoreline is the historic town of Huron City. No one lives in the former town but it is not a ghost town. It has been converted into a museum consisting of several historic buildings. One of them is this historic church that served as the methodist church for the town since it was built in 1882.

The windows are covered up for the winter, I guess I will have to go back and visit in the summer. you can find out more about the historic village on their website HERE.

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St. Andrew’s in Grand Rapids is one of Michigan’s oldest parishes. The current church was constructed in 1875. In 1901 lightning struck one of the steeples and a fire destroyed part of the church building. It was rebuilt and expanded. Some of the wooden beams above the ceiling still show the charred marks from the fire. In the 1950s, a television studio was created in the historic church, and cameras were used to broadcast Sunday mass into people’s homes.

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I love buildings and houses built with fieldstones. I think they are a reflection of the area since many of the stones are collected from the area and this beautiful old church in Manchester is no exception. A historic marker giving its history stands in front of it and reads:

The first Catholic church in the Manchester area was built by German settlers in Freedom Township in 1839 and dedicated to Saint Francis de Borgia. In 1863 Father Edward Van Lauwe was appointed pastor of Saint Dominic in Clinton, and Manchester was one of his missions. In 1870 thirty-five Irish families built the Church of the Assumption on Macomb Street in Manchester. Father Edwin Fisher, the pastor of Clinton and its missions, became the resident pastor in Manchester in 1909. In 1911 local craftsmen built this Neo-Gothic inspired church from fieldstones collected by farmers and salvaged from the foundation of the hotel that had stood on the site. It was dedicated in January 1912. Father Fisher designed the church and erected similar fieldstone churches at his missions in Blissfield, Tecumseh, and Brooklyn.

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This beautiful old church which is now used as a history museum stands in the town of Benzonia. It has a rather unique looking steeple and belfry. The marker proudly mounted next to the door reads:

Early in the 1850’s Congregationalists came to this area to found the community of Benzonia and a Christian college. In 1860 the Reverend Charles E. Bailey, a prime figure behind the organization of the community and the college, helped organize the area’s first church with eighteen members. Erected in 1884/87, this Gothic Revival style building served the congregation until 1968. In 1969 the building became the Benzie Area Historic Museum.

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This beautiful old wooden church stands in the small town of Hersey in the central Lower Peninsula. A historicla marker proudly stands in front of it and reads:

The First Congregational Church of Hersey was formally organized in 1870. Services were held in a local schoolhouse for three years. Delos A. Blodgett — early explorer, prominent lumberman and first settler of the area — donated the land and lumber for this church, which was built in 1873-74 at a cost of $3,000. It features handsome leaded-glass windows and a pyramidal steeple. Michigan white pine graces both the exterior and interior, including a handmade pulpit.

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I was in Lansing recently and I decided to take the long way home and drive through some towns I have never visited. I went through the beautiful town of Portland and I saw this old wooden church on the other side of the river from downtown. I had to stop and take a photo of it. It did not have a name and it seemed out of place like it was moved to that location. I have not had time to contact anyone in Portland about but I did find an old photo. I think it is the church but it must have lost the pointy part of its steeple sometime throughout its life.

Of course whatever someone had written at the bottom of the print was cut off. I think it was the Baptist church built in 1877. The beautiful little church stands separated from downtown, patiently waiting for someone to notice it.

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West of Grayling along M-72 near Bear Lake is this beautiful log church. With its brown logs and green roof, it reminded me of playing with Lincoln Logs when I was a child.

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This beautiful white church stands in the town of Tustin south of Cadillac. The historical marker standing in front of it gives a little history and reads:

In 1870 the Episcopal Diocese of Western Michigan,, the Grand Rapids and Indiana, and the Evangelical Church of Sweden collaborated in promoting Swedish immigration to Michigan. Through the efforts of the Reverend Josiah Tustin of Grand Rapids, about one thousand Swedes immigrated to west Michigan by 1872. Many settled in New Bleking, present-day Tustin. In 1872 they organized St. Johannes’ Episcopal Church. On April 4, 1874, the Lutherans originally belonging to the Church of Sweden formed the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church. This building dates from 1882. The pressed metal interior, installed in 1921, remains remarkably intact.

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This little patriotic looking red, white, and blue church stands in the middle of Yuma Michigan. Above the door, the sign reads Evening Light Tabernacle. The town of Yuma was founded in the late 1800s as a logging town and continued to grow after the railroad built a station to serve the community. At one time the small town had many businesses but over time they closed. After the post office closed in 1960 the town mostly faded away only a few houses and this old church remain along with some railroad passengers cars that seem like they are lost. you can see my post about them HERE

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