General Store Archives - Lost In Michigan

The Forgotten General Store

Posted on January 13, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Forgotten Places, General Store, Ghost towns .

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.

Thank you for Subscribing to Lost In Michigan, If you have not subscribed yet, It would mean a lot to me if you did.

The Ghost Town of Damon

Posted on December 3, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in General Store, Ghost towns .

Not much remains of the town of Damon but an old general store and a few houses. In the late 1800’s it was a booming lumbering town with a hotel and school for the children o the lumberjacks. The town was the inspiration for the town in James Oliver Curwood’s book Green Timber. Located about 10 miles north of West Branch The town was first settled in 1878 and named for George Damon owner of the firm Cutting & Damon. It was given a post office in 1880 then closed in 1907. The post office was briefly reopened in 1911 but closed two years later in 1915. I only assume most of the timber was gone and there was little work for the residents and they moved on.

P.S. I still have yet to read Green Timber. I have a few other James Oliver Curwood books but I have not found a copy of Green Timber yet. I am sure I could get one from eBay but that is not as much fun as looking for one in a used book store.

It’s like taking a road trip without ever leaving your house. Find Interesting locations throughout the Mitten State with a Lost In Michigan book Available on Amazon by clicking HERE

Thank you for Subscribing to Lost In Michigan, If you have not subscribed yet, It would mean a lot to me if you did.

Deerfield General Store

Posted on August 28, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in General Store, upper peninsula .

On my way to visit the Peninsula Lighthouse HERE near Little Bay De Noc in the Upper Peninusula, I passed this old general store. The sign above the door reads Deerfield and that it was built in 1902. I am not sure if Deerfield was the name of the proprietor since the village of Deerfield is located southwest of Dundee. I was not able to find any history about it but I thought it was a nice looking old building. The sun was shining on it so I thought I would stop and take a photo of it and share it with you.

P.S. I see a lot of old building and houses in the U.P. if walls could talk I wonder what stories they would share.

Thank you for Subscribing to Lost In Michigan, If you have not subscribed yet, It would mean a lot to me if you did.

The Famous General Store

Posted on June 1, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in General Store .

In an area filled with fancy vineyards for wine lovers to explore is an old general store a little ways off the main road. Near the tip of the Old Mission Peninsula is the small almost forgotten town of Old Mission. That is where you will find the Old Mission General Store. Many people recognize it from the Pure Michigan commercials. When you visit the Old Mission Lighthouse the general store is a few miles away on the east side of the peninsula and it is a nice place to stop for a snack. The town is interesting with a lot of history, but that is a post for a different day.

If you are looking for places to explore this summer books are available on my website HERE or at Amazon HERE

Thank you for Subscribing to Lost In Michigan, If you have not subscribed yet, It would mean a lot to me if you did.

[fbcomments]

The Good Hart General Store

Posted on May 13, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in General Store .

This cute little general store is on M-119 along the famous “tunnel of trees” route. It is between Harbor Springs and Cross Village and it’s a nice place to stop and get a snack while you are out enjoying a nice drive in northern Michigan.

The Native American chief in the area was Black Hawk and his brother was named Great Heart or Good Heart. The indian agent marked it down as Good Hart and that is where the name of the town came from.

Lost In Michigan books are ON SALE this week and available HERE or on Amazon HERE

Thank you for Subscribing to Lost In Michigan

[fbcomments]

Bach Michigan, but not that Bach

Posted on March 14, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in General Store, Thumb .

Southeast of Sebewaing is the little town of Bach which is home to this old general store. If you are like me and think the town was named after the famous composer than you would be incorrect. You know what they say about assuming, you make an ass out of you and… well I guess I better get back to the town of Bach. The town was named after Fredric Bach who founded it in 1889. The little town even got a station on the Michigan Central Railroad and a post office in 1912.

I hope you will Subscribe to Lost In Michigan

[fbcomments]

Along The Way

Posted on February 19, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in General Store .

When I go on a road trip I usually have some destinations planned out, but I typically take backroads to get to where I am going. You never know what you will see along the way. I saw this old store somewhere between Mesick and Bear Lake. I can only assume it was a general store or saloon long ago from the shape of the building. I tried to find the name of a town in the area but I couldn’t. I stopped took a few pics from the road and moved on. It looks as if all their customers moved on too. I imagine back in the day, it was travelers on dirt roads in tear dropped cars that stopped for a Vernors and some gas. Now I can just set the cruise and keep on going, unless I see something along the way.
Lost In Michigan books are ON SALE this weekend. To Order from my website Click HERE or on Amazon HERE

If you like my posts it would really mean a lot to me if you Subscribe to Lost In Michigan

The Concrete Store

Posted on January 18, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in General Store, small towns .

On US-10 between Reed City and Baldwin is the small town of Chase. In the center of town is this old concrete store. No, I don’t mean that they sell concrete, but that it is made from poured concrete. I took this photo a while ago and did not think much about it. One day while I was doing some research, I came across an old photo of a building that looked familiar.

I thought to myself ” Hey, that’s the old antique store in Chase ” If you look at the photo it looks like there are forms for concrete, and the building is built in layers, like onions and ogres. The town is not far from the historic ghost town of Marlborough which makes sense as to why the building would have been made from concrete. You can read about Marlborough HERE Chase was a booming lumber town and was almost the county seat but it lost out to Baldwin. Now it’s just a sleepy little community that people drive through on the way to where ever it is they are going. Next time you drive past this old building maybe you will remember the people who built it a century ago, and the towns that used to be.

Lost In Michigan wall calendars are ON SALE and going fast. I sold out of them by December last year so now is a good time to get one. you can order them from my website HERE

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

The Old Country Store

Posted on December 6, 2018 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in General Store .

When I went through Copper Harbor in the Keweenaw Peninsula I came across the Old Country Store. I love shopping at these kinds of stores to see what I can find. Unfortunately, they were closed when I was there. I guess I will have to make another trip back to Copper Harbor, I wish it was not so far away.

I have a few Lighthouse and Dam calendars available. I sold out of my Lost In Michigan wall calendars, thank you to everyone, who got one. I am eternally grateful for your support. I may sell them online, but I live in Michigan and my books and calendars are printed in Michigan. Speaking of books, I am out of stock but I hope to have more soon, If you want some right away you can order them from Amazon HERE

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

[fbcomments]

Finding Bliss in Northern Michigan

Posted on October 10, 2018 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in General Store, small towns .

If you are searching for Bliss in northern Michigan you will it find somewhere between Mackinaw City and Cross Village. It’s the name of a small town in the agricultural area south of Wilderness State Park. In 1878, the town got a post office, and the little community was named after Arron T. Bliss, a wealthy lumber baron in Saginaw. I assume he owned land and a sawmill in the area. He became the 25th governor of Michigan. There is not a lot of buildings in the small town, but the general store is still in business. If you are in the area you can stop for a moment of bliss in the town of Bliss.

If you like my posts it would really mean a lot to me if you Subscribe to Lost In Michigan

[fbcomments]