In 1886, William Crapo “Billy” Durant and business partner Josiah Dallas Dort leased this building along the Flint River to form the Flint Road Cart Company. Eventually, it became the Durant-Dort Carriage Factory and one of the largest carriage builders in the world.

In the early 1900s, Durant would take control of the Buick Motor Co., and using the Durant-Dort resources he grew the company into one of the most successful auto manufacturers in the country. Durant used Buick’s success to build General Motors in 1908 and as they say “the rest is history”

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

One of the most influential cities in Michigan is the state’s capital city of Lansing. Strangely, when Michigan first became a state in 1837, Lansing was not much more than swampland. Michigan’s constitution required the state have a permanent capital ten years after it acquired statehood.   The temporary capital was in Detroit, but many representatives wanted somewhere more central in the state.  Several cities including Jackson, Marshall, and Ann Arbor lobbied hard to be the new home of the capital.

James Seymour, a land speculator with a mill in what is now North Lansing, campaigned for Lansing Township. He argued that it is equidistant from Detroit, Monroe, Mt. Clemens, and the mouths of the Grand and Kalamazoo rivers. In 1847, after voting fifty one times, out of frustration they finally agreed the permanent capital would be in Lansing township. The densely wooded and marshy township had less than one hundred residents when it was chosen.

The citizens of Michigan were highly skeptical of the new plan, many even though it was a joke. In the beginning, the city did not even have a name. The location was simply known as the “Town of Michigan” when it was first platted. A wooden two-story building was quickly erected to serve as the state capital. Many of the legislators and representatives had to sleep on the upper floor of the new capital or in people’s private homes while governing the young state. In April the state legislature considered naming the capital Pewanogowink, Swedenborg, or El Dorado, but chose Lansing.

Lost In Michigan books are ON SALE this weekend on 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. 

This massive brick building in Belding sits near downtown across from the library. Built in 1906, Belrockton is the last remaining boardinghouse of the three provided by the Belding Brothers and Company for its single female workers. A major silk manufacturer in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the company employed hundreds of young women and earned Belding the title of “Silk City of the World.” Providing accommodations for one hundred residents and staff, the Belrockton Dormitory, a Classical-Revival-inspired building, was erected at a cost of thirty thousand dollars. Following the closing of the company’s silk mills in 1935, the “Bel” served as a residential training center for the National Youth Administration. In 1943 the building became a recreation center. The city of Belding purchased the structure in 1950 to serve as a community center. In 1987 it became the home of the Belding Museum.

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

This old cannon stands next to a VFW post along the Red Arrow Highway near Watervliet in southwest Michigan. I pass by a lot of VFW posts that have decommissioned military equipment such as tanks and canons, but this particular cannon is unique and rare. It dates back to World War I. The wooden chassis and wheels were built by Studebaker. The gun portion was made by the Northwest Ordnance Company in Watervliet, New York where the United States created an arsenal in 1893 along the Hudson River. It is the oldest continuously active arsenal in the United States, and today produces much of the artillery for the army, as well as gun tubes for cannons, mortars, and tanks

Watervliet Michigan was named after Watervliet New York, where the first settlers to the area in Michigan came from in the 1830s. I can only assume that is how this historic cannon came to stand in the southwestern Michigan town is its connection to the town in New York.

Armistice Day is the day that marked the end of World War I. The armistice was signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany and fighting would stop on the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month” in 1918. It is why we celebrate Veteran’s Day on November 11th. Thank you to all the men and women who have served or continue to serve and defend this country and its Constitution. It is your sacrifices and commitment that allow me to continue my pursuit of happiness.

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 tracks are gone, and a rail trail  for biking and hiking remains where they used to be. Autumn trees of reds and yellows stand alongside the path with memories of the tragic forest fire that burned the town of Metz.

A photo of the warped tracks from the fire ( photo from the roadside park in Metz)

The historical marker in Metz reads: On October 15, 1908, raging fires swept the pine forests of Presque Isle County. When the flames approached the village of Metz, a train jammed with women and children left for Posen, five miles away. At Nowicki’s siding, two miles out of town, huge piles of blazing wood lined the track. As the engine raced past the siding, where intense heat had warped the rails, the train left the track, leaving an open car full of refugees in the center of the flames. Sixteen were killed and dozens of others badly burned. Throughout this part of the state hundreds were left homeless, as many homes and farms were devastated. Supplies soon poured in so that shelters could be erected before the onset of the northern winter.

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 Glen Haven Canning Co. building sits along the Lake Michigan shoreline in the small town of Glen Haven a few miles away from Glen Arbor. The canning company building was originally used as a warehouse supplying ships and fishing vessels. In the 1920’s it was used to can cherries. I assume that is when it was painted bright red. Now it is used as a museum exhibiting old wooden boats from the region.

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