Category Archives: Forgotten Places

The Oscoda Mystery

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I saw this old building in Oscoda with a faded mural on the side. It has faded with time but it has a B-52 and the emblem for the Strategic Air Command. I can only assume it was painted before the Wurtsmith Air Force Base was decommissioned in 1993.

It was not until I got home and really looked at the photo that I noticed it has a garage door on the second floor. It looks as if they bricked in the opening bellow and added it up above. I have no clue as to why there is a second story overhead door. If you know please post a comment below because it has me baffled.

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The Forgotten General Store

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Bracing itself against the wind and snow for several years the remains of this old general store still stand in the small forgotten town of Dighton. Located a few miles south of Cadillac, the town was named after Dighton Marvin. At one point it had over 1000 residents and three sawmills. Not much remains of the old sawmill town today. A store and a few houses are all that is left of the once bustling community.

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The Ruins in the Upper Peninsula

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Along the shoreline of Lake Superior are a tall smokestack and concrete ruins. It is near the town of Freda west of Houghton in the Keweenaw Peninsula. The maze of weathered concrete and rusty rebar is what remains of the Champion Mill that processed the copper-rich rocks. Trains would pull into the mill and dump their cars filled with copper infused rocks. The mill would pulverize the rocks and mix them with water from lake superior creating a sludge rich in copper. It was then taken by train to Houghton for further processing and then poured into ingots and shipped around the world.

Close-up view of the ruins

The mill closed in 1967 and it was stripped of any metal for scrap. I made the trip to see the ruins, but the road stops at a cliff that overlooks the remains. A barbed-wire fence restricts people from getting to close. It was interesting to see and hard to capture the immense size in a photo. Unfortunately, access to visitors is not allowed.  I also stopped to see the waterfalls and old train bridge in nearby Redridge. You can find the post by clicking HERE

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A Michigan Ghost Town

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When most people hear the words “ghost town” they usually envision an old deserted wild west town in the American southwestern desert. While many of the towns sprang up around mines for silver and gold, Michigan had several towns that were built around a sawmill. Michiganders were not mining for gold but they were earning it by cutting timber and selling lumber. The remains of one of the few remaining sawmill towns can be found within the Louis M. Groen Nature Preserve near Johannesburg.

The remains of the Johannesburg manufacturing Co. are deep within the preserve.  The buildings have collapsed under the Michigan snow but the framework of the old well pump is still standing. Rusty old trucks and equipment rest silently along the road that once leads to the town. If you are looking for something a little different to explore this summer be sure to check it out.

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The Forgotten Town Near The Falls

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I saw this old shack or house or whatever it was not far from the waterfalls I stopped to visit. Looking on the map I show both the town of Dixon and Forest Lake on the map and it is not far from Au Train Falls. I am not sure if this is the last remaining structure from the town. It was first named Dixon when it was founded in 1890 by the Clevland Cliffs Company which did a lot of mining of iron ore throughout the Upper Peninsula. It got a post office in 1915 but then it changed names to Forest Lake in 1921. The days of mining and lumbering are long gone and the area is mostly outdoor recreation used by hunters and fishermen and fisherwomen.

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Michigan’s Historic Brick Factory Ruins

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The factory ruins were constructed with brick, but it was a factory that made bricks. The lincoln Brick Factory made 40,000 bricks per day at its peak and many buildings around Michigan were constructed using the bricks it produced. The factory located near Grand Ledge closed in 1947 and in 1975 the property was acquired by Eaton county. The land is now a county park aptly named Lincoln Brick Park. The remnants of the old factory still stand in the park where you can wander around and explore the ruins.

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The Castle Ruins in Michigan’s Forest

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Hidden deep in the forests of northern Michigan is the remains of an enormous castle-like mansion. The house was built by Russell Clifford Durant, known as “Cliff” to all his friends. He was the son of William Durant who founded General Motor. In the late 1920’s Cliff and his wife Lea built this opulent mansion on the banks of the Au Sable River.

Sadly the couple never got a chance to live in the house. In 1931, When painters were adding the final coat of paint to one of the rooms they stopped to take a break. While going to nearby Roscommon the house caught fire and burned. It was believed that some turpentine soaked rags caught fire and created the blaze that destroyed the home. Because of the Great Depression, the Durants decided not to rebuild the house. For years the ruins of the Durant Castle stood in the forest but eventually, everything standing was knocked down and the foundation filled in. You can still see some remnants of the castle protruding from the ground. It is now a picnic area within the Mason Tract. Although there is not a lot to see, it is a fun adventure to search for it.

P.S. I always get asked about detailed locations or directions to the places I post. I figure trying to find them as I did is part of the fun. for the most part, a quick search on google maps will show many of the public places. For private or abandoned places I like to keep the location to a general area because unfortunately a few unscrupulous people trespass and vandalize some of the places. If you want more information and detailed location to public places be sure to order a copy of the Lost In Michigan book series that have exact locations.

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Big Rock

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It is said that when an iceberg is floating in the ocean you can only see about ten percent of it sticking out of the water. That is the case for the giant boulder that is sticking out of the ground in northern Michigan. No one knows for sure how large the “big rock” is that protrudes from the ground, but it can be seen on M-32 between Gaylord and Atlanta. At on time a lumbering community was settled around it and was given the name Big Rock for obvious reasons. Nothing remains from the old sawmill town but the rock and a couple of signs describing it.

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What is That Brick Structure in Port Hope?

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port hope chimney

From a distance, this tall structure in Port Hope looks like lighthouse since it is so close to Lake Huron near the tip of the Thumb. After you get up close to it you realize it is something different. Thankfully there is a historical marker next to it that tells you what it is and its significance. Maybe I am one of the few people that bother to read the signs but I appreciate them. In this day and age of google sometimes a plain old sign still works extremely well and reads:

This chimney was built in 1858 by John Geitz. It is all that remains of the lumber mill established that year by William R. Stafford. Port Hope grew up around the mill. For a score of years, this town was the center of lumbering in the Thumb. It also became an important producer of salt. In 1871 and again in 1881 the mill, the docks, and possessions of hundreds of people were destroyed by fire. This chimney is a monument to those pioneers who by their courage and industry developed this area.

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Abandoned Echo Valley Resort

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Hidden deep within the northern Michigan forest is an old stone motel style building. It looks as if it has not been used for a long time with the moss-covered steps and roof. The forest motel is the remains of the old Echo Valley Resort on Johannesburg Lake. It is in the back of what is now the Louis M. Groen Nature preserve near the town of Johannesburg. I did not go in the building as it was roped off with a no trespassing sign. Hopefully, the nature preserve will eventually be able to do something with the old building.

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