General Store Archives - Page 3 of 3

Lost In Columbiaville

Posted on April 3, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in General Store, small towns .

I was going through my archive of photos from my travels because I can’t or will not travel right now. I came across this pic of an old building in Columbiaville that I never posted. I am not sure what this place is or was but it looks like an old general store at one time.

In 1848 a sawmill was built by George and Henry Niver, on the bank of the river. The town became known as Niverville until 1857, when the first post office was established. A town named Niverville existed in Michigan, so a new name was needed. Columbiaville was suggested by the Nivers, after their native county Columbia, NY.

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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.

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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.

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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 at Amazon HERE

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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.

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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.
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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.

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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

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