Near the intersection of old 127 and M-61 not far from Harrison is an old wooden fence with stone pillars. It may not look like much now, but back in the day tourists from miles around would stop for what was behind the fence. John E. Meyers moved to the area in the 1920’s and known by his nickname Spikehorn he built the Spikehorn Bear Den behind the old fence. The sign read “where you could shake hands with a bear” I am not sure why you would want to but tourists flocked to the site to see the bears and meet the strange man known as Spikehorn. He must have been a character with his leather mountain man clothes and his long white hair and beard. He was fond of telling tall tales of lumberjacks and trapping in Michigan’s forests.
Spikehorn traveled with his bears, and was happy to show off his big furry friends during interviews with the media. He took some of his bears to Detroit for a radio interview, and one of his bears got loose, as they usually do. Needless to say, the workers in the radio station were not too fond of a bear roaming the office. When he was 87 years old a devastating fire destroyed his bear den and park. He was too old to rebuild it and a few years later at the age of 89, he passed away at a nursing home in Gladwin. All that remains is this old wooden fence and some stone pillars.
You can read more about Spikehorn and other weird Michigan places in the Lost In Michigan books available on Amazon by clicking HERE
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