Forgotten Places Archives - Page 21 of 25

The Spooky Old House on the Highway

Posted on March 6, 2017 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Forgotten Places, Houses .

I saw this old house, that’s beautiful in a spooky kinda way, near Clio. It’s on Dixie Highway, or at least that is what I call it, maybe it’s Dort, but I digress. I know absolutely nothing about this house, but I had to stop and take a photo of it as it looks out at the cars speeding past it. Someone is still mowing the lawn so I know it’s not abandoned, but I wonder what the story is with this old house being on such a prominent north-south road thru the eastern side of Michigan.

if you like what I post I hope you will subscribe to email updates so you won’t miss any new posts,

[fbcomments]

Lost In Southwest Michigan

Posted on February 12, 2017 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Forgotten Places, Houses .

I went on a whirlwind tour of southwestern Michigan, and after stopping near Benton Harbor, I wanted to go to St Joseph but somehow I made a wrong turn. As I was driving I knew something was wrong and made a turn to head a different direction and then I saw this old house next to the road in the clutches of the trees. I stopped and got a pic, but I really had no idea of where I was so retracing my steps on google maps I found out I was near Hollywood, I guess I went a little too far but now I know there is a town called Hollywood in Michigan. Sometimes going the wrong way may be correct after all.

I got lots of great pics and stories to share from my trip. Thank you if have already signed up for email notifications if not I hope you will so you won’t miss any new posts

The Two Sisters and the Magical Little Island Near Detroit

Posted on January 29, 2017 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Forgotten Places .

Many Sunsets ago there were two sisters that would play along the Detroit river. For many years they would enjoy traveling with friends and family as they would visit a magic land on a wonderful little island. The sisters would make their trips, day after day, and as the years went by, they grew older and older, but still enjoyed there time together while greeting old friends who now have their own children. As the years went by there were less and less people that wanted to go on a journey with the two sisters, and then one day they finally made there last trip to the beautiful little island in the Detroit River. After 81 years of playing on the river together, the two sisters parted, and went there separate ways. one is still near the Detroit River resting and waiting for the day she can visit the little island with all her friends and family.

The Ste. Claire was launched at the Toledo Shipbuilding Company in 1910, and entered service later that year as part of the fleet operated by the Detroit & Windsor Ferry Company. For 81 years, this vessel carried passengers to Boblo Island until the park closed in 1993. The Ste Claire and her sister ship the Columbia are the last two passenger steamers left in the country. The Ste Claire was declared a US National Historic Landmark in 1992 and is currently on the rouge river awaiting restoration, you can find out more at Bobloboat.com

Update: The Ste Claire was recently purchased and moved to Riverside Marina, Here is an article about the sale of the ship at Clickondetroit HERE

you can get a print of this pic or any of my images HERE

It would really mean a lot to me if you subscribe to email updates so you won’t miss any new posts

[fbcomments]

The Mystery of Poverty Island’s Sunken Treasure Chests

Posted on January 28, 2017 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Forgotten Places, Lighthouses, upper peninsula .

Poverty Island Lighthouse, U.S. Coast Guard Archives

Poverty Island is located in northern lake Michigan and one of several islands marking the entrance to Big Bay De Noc and Green Bay, as in the bay in lake Michigan, not the city. As shipping traffic increased on the Great Lakes it was decided that a light was needed to guide ships safely thru the chain of islands at the entrance to Green Bay. The U.S. Lighthouse Board commissioned a Lighthouse to be built on Poverty island in 1874 using the same design as the Lighthouse on Sturgeon Point near Harrisville on Lake Huron, ( you can read my post HERE) The Light was automated in 1958 and by 1965 the Lantern room at the top of the tower and the lens had been removed and replaced with an exposed electric light. The Light was permanently deactivated and abandoned in 1995 and the old discarded lantern room laying on the ground was retrieved and used to restore the Sand Point Lighthouse ( you can see my post HERE)

The Old abandoned Lighthouse, that’s on my ” Bucket List” of places to photograph, looks over the waters where treasure chests full of gold were tossed overboard into Lake Michigan. There are several theories of where the chests came from, one of them being, Jesse Strang the ” King of Beaver Island” and the leader of a Mormon colony on Beaver Island with the gold was collected from his followers. The plausible theory is that during the Civil War, a shipment of gold from Napoleon Bonaparte was being transported thru the great lakes down the Mississippi to fund the Confederate army. When a Union ship began attacking, the captain had the crew throw the treasure chests overboard in the waters off poverty island, so the gold could not be used by the Union Army, with the intention of retrieving it later.

Lost In Michigan books are ON SALE this weekend on Amazon HERE

It would really mean a lot to me if you Subscribe to Lost In Michigan

The Mysterious House On Gull Island

Posted on January 5, 2017 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Forgotten Places, Historic Places, Houses .

1966 postcard of Gull Island

A strange and mysterious house still sits on the lonely and desolate island in the Grand Traverse Bay. The island sits offshore from Northport in the Leelanau Peninsula. It is called Bellow Island, and has an old abandoned house on it that is now occupied by a flock of Herring Gulls.

The Island was purchased by Edward Taylor Ustick, a prominent businessman in St Louis Mo. He had the cottage built on the island around 1910 by Brian Woolsey, who built the dairy building that became the Woolsey Memorial Airport HERE. The family used the cottage for several years living with the birds and in 1931 after Edward died his son Lee Ustick, now a Harvard professor, inherited the house and island.

Lee had not visited the island frequently and the last time he was there was in 1945. a few years later in 1948 he got a call from the Michigan state police that the house had been destroyed by vandals. Six juveniles from Northport took axes to the home and destroyed all the plumbing, furniture and walls making the home inhabitable.

In the 1960’s the island was finally sold to retired Great Lakes train-ferry captain from Ludington, Herbert Yost, and his wife, Jane. They were going to build a new cabin on the island. The house was never built because Captain Yost was killed in an automobile crash in 1965.

In 1995, an agreement was reached with the Leelanau Conservancy to acquire the island for permanent protection as a public trust and bird sanctuary and off-limits to any visitors for the protection of the gulls that reside on the island. The old house originally built by Edward Ustick still stands on the island and is slowly crumbling.

If you found this post interesting, Lost In Michigan books are ON SALE this week, you can order them on Amazon by clicking HERE

If you rely on Facebook for post updates, I only share older posts. If you want to see me most recent posts I hope you subscribe to email updates

The American Dream

Posted on January 3, 2017 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Forgotten Places, Houses .

I saw this old house hiding in the woods near Posen, north of Alpena. I was told the American Dream was that every generation has a better standard of living than the previous generation. Seeing the old farm houses in northern Michigan makes me wonder how challenging it must have been for the family who grew up in those houses, and their hard work made it better for their children and their children’s children. I can only imagine what it must have been like going into town with a horse and buggy or an old model T. and now the old house sits abandoned as modern cars whizz by at 60 mph on a nice paved road.

I hope my kids have it better than I did, and I know I have it better than my parents and grandparents. I am not sure how well I am contributing to the American dream, but I figure if I can make today better than yesterday, it will make this year better than last year. so lets hope for a better 2017 than 2016

P.S. I have lots more good stuff to post and more interesting places to visit in Michigan. I am planning to finally get down to the southwest part of the state, I hope you will continue to follow me and enjoy what I post.

I hope you subscribe to email updates so you won’t miss any new posts,

[fbcomments]

The First Day of Winter in a Michigan Wonderland

Posted on December 21, 2016 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Forgotten Places, Houses, Winter Wonderland .

It’s the first day of winter, and yeah I know, for some it’s their least favorite time of year, and the thing we complain about the most, but I don’t mind it. I have relatives who grew up down south, and have never experienced winter like we do in the the north, and they wonder how we can survive being cooped up in the house for a few months. I say it’s all about finding something to do in the winter, whether it’s skiing, ice fishing or snowmobiling you need to embrace the snow and the cold and it can be a lot of fun.

I still like to go out and photograph in the winter, and one thing I especially like about taking pics in the winter is I can find and see things that are hidden most any other time of year. With the trees bare, the old forgotten houses can not hide behind the lush green foliage of summer. I am not sure what I will find this winter, I have not been out taking pics in a while since I have been busy with the holidays coming up but I am looking forward to going out and getting lost in Michigan and seeing what I can find in the snow.

P.S. if you’re wondering, I saw this old house north of Ann Arbor. I imagine at one time there was a family inside all warm by the fire waiting for Christmas to arrive, but those days are long gone.
I have been using facebook less since they want me to pay to boost all of my posts, I hope you subscribe to email updates so you won’t miss any new posts,

[fbcomments]

The Old House Near Kalkaska

Posted on December 9, 2016 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Forgotten Places, Houses, Winter Wonderland .

I saw this old farmhouse while I was getting lost driving around Kalkaska. I often wonder about these old northern Michigan farmhouses and the difficulties of living and working in northern Michigan. It must have been a hard way to make a living, working on the hilly fields in the hot summer, and then fighting the cold in the winter all while being rather isolated from civilization. I wonder what they would have thought of all of us “tourists” that head up to the great white north to relax and enjoy Pure Michigan.

If you like my posts I hope you will Subscribe to Lost In Michigan

[fbcomments]

The Inspiring Story of the Little Girl Raised in this Forgotten House

Posted on November 10, 2016 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in autumn, Forgotten Places, Houses .

Near Arcadia Michigan, is this old farmhouse hidden in the trees, in which a little girl named Harriet Quimby lived with her family. When she was a teenager, she moved with her parents to California where she grew up with a love of writing. She wrote seven screenplays directed by D.W. Griffith, and even acted in a few movies. She eventually moved to New York, and began writing a column for Leslie’s Illustrated Weekly. She would publish articles about her journeys and adventures for the magazine, which lead her to an airshow, where she fell in love with aviation, and became the first woman to receive a pilot’s license on August 1st, 1911.

Harriet Quimby in her Purple Flying Suit : Wikipedia

She became a world famous pilot, traveling the world flying in her vibrant colored purple flying suit, and paved the way for female pilots like Amelia Earhart. She was the first woman pilot to fly across the English Channel in 1912, but received little press coverage, because the Titanic had sunk the day before her crossing.

on July 1st she was Tragically killed in a plane crash when her plane pitched upward and she, and her passenger, were thrown from the plane and fell to their deaths. Strangely the plane glided back down, and her accident still remains a mystery as to what happened.

Lost In Michigan books are ON SALE this weekend on Amazon HERE

Please Note Facebook has once again changed, and is really pushing me to pay to “boost” my posts and limiting what my followers see. It would really help me out if you sign up for email notifications so you know when I post something new, lots of people tell me they like getting my emails and I think you will too. if you don’t like it you can always unsubscribe.

The Ruins in the Kewenaw

Posted on October 13, 2016 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Forgotten Places, Historic Places, upper peninsula .

Halfway between Calumet and Hancock on M26 in the Keweenaw Peninsula, I came across these massive concrete blocks, standing like giant dominoes, and I could not help but wonder what they were. Doing a little research, I found out they are the remains of the old Ahmeek Stamping Mill built in the early 1900’s. Atop the concrete blocks were stamping machines, part of which remains today, and they would pound the rocks down to a sand like material, and extract the copper from it.

This is an old post, you can read some of my newer posts by CLICKING HERE

It would mean a lot to me if you Subscribe to Lost In Michigan

[fbcomments]

« Previous Page