Historic Places Archives - Lost In Michigan

Sinclair

Posted on March 3, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Historic Places .

I thought maybe I traveled back in time when I saw this old Sinclair Service station in Cassopolis. I am not sure what the story is on this place but it looks as if it was used as an office or something.

It reminds me of being a kid and pulling into the gas station with my dad in his big blue Oldsmobile Delta 88 and the bell inside going DING DING. Getting gas is so much different with the fancy card swiping digital pumps. If I ran a gas station especially near the expressway I would convert it into a retro-looking service station. I would have neon lights and illuminated globes on top of the pumps. I would even put in a hose that goes DING DING. ( until it drove me insane)

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The WWI Plot to Destroy A Historic Tunnel

Posted on February 22, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Historic Places .

The St. Clair tunnel was the first international underwater railway tunnel in the world when it was constructed in 1891. The tunnel runs between Port Huron and Sarnia under the St. Clair River. It was vital for the transportation of supplies and during World War 1 it was the target of a clandestine German organization to destroy several important targets in the southeastern part of Michigan. Albert Carl Kaltschmidt, A German Immigrant living in Detroit, along with some German friends planned to blow up some weapon manufacturing plants in Detroit and Canada along with the tunnel under the St. Clare River.

Support for the group came from Count Johann von Bernstorff, the German ambassador in Washington, D.C., and Captain Franz von Papen, who later became Adolf Hitler’s vice-chancellor. Kaltschmidt and his men planned to dynamite the Detroit Screw Works which produced shrapnel for the allies. His plans were deterred by the guards at the plant and his other targets where discovered. He had planned to load a railroad car with dynamite to destroy the historic tunnel. He was captured and tried and convicted in federal court where he was sentenced to four years of prison. After three years he was deported back to Germany.

Photo from Wikipedia showing the new and old tunnel.

In 1995 a larger tunnel was constructed next to the original one to handle larger rail cars. The old tunnel was decommissioned after more than a century of use.

P.S. I could not get a really good photo of the old tunnel. I did not want to poke around too much since it is an international tunnel has security around it.

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Bellevue’s Kiln and the Capitol Building

It’s hard to imagine how this crumbling structure had an important role in the construction of Michigan’s capitol building. This odd-looking stone building sits along Sand Road in a small county park just outside of the town of Bellevue. A small fence surrounds it protecting it from visitors or maybe protecting visitors from it. The Dyer Kiln was used for burning limestone in the preparation of cement in the late 19th century. A small wooden sign nearby declares the kiln was built by Thomas Roberts in 1880 and the Limestone ash it created was used in the mortar to build the state capital in Lansing. The property surrounding the old kiln was turned into a small park in 1975, allowing visitors to see this long-abandoned kiln.

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Newberry Jail

Posted on December 21, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Historic Places, upper peninsula .

Constructed in 1894, this graceful Queen Anne style structure served as the Luce County jail and sheriff’s residence for over seventy years. The peninsular Land Company donated the site. The architectural firm of Lovejoy and DeMar from Marquette designed this sturdy edifice from rough-hewn Jacobsville sandstone. The Luce County Historical Society rescued this building from demolition in 1975 and restored it as the Luce County Historical Museum in 1976.

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Hillsdale Poor Farm

Posted on November 27, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Barns and Farms, Historic Places .

This old cobblestone house served as the poor farm in Hillsdale from 1853 to 1867. It housed people in the county who could not take care of themselves financially or mentally. The Poet Will Carleton who graduated from Hillsdale College was inspired by this house to write the poem. “Over the Hill to the Poor House” which captured the nation’s attention to the plight of the elderly in American society.

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Police Radio Broadcast

Posted on October 12, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Detroit, Historic Places .

This castle-like stone building in the center of Belle Isle State Park seems like an ordinary building. Thousands of visitors pass by it, but I wonder how many realize how much it affected society. This was the first police radio dispatch station in the United States. In 1928 the Detroit Police broadcasted from this building on their own frequency to patrol cars around the city. They chose Belle Isle to avoid interference with other radio stations.

Before the station was constructed the department did not have a dedicated frequency band to broadcast on. In 1921 the station experimented with broadcasting to officers between songs on station KOP. Between songs, they would read a list of stolen cars or alert them to missing children.

A modern patrol car today if filled with electronics and the officer is surrounded by a computer, radar guns, and communication equipment. It’s hard to imagine a day when the police did not have a basic radio in their car.

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Detroit’s Mostly Forgotten Fort Wayne

Posted on September 2, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Detroit, Historic Places .

Most people are unaware of the old historic Civil War-era fort next to the Detroit River near downtown Detroit. When I tell people about Fort Wayne they think of Indiana, but it is the name of the fort in Detroit. It was built in the 1840s and used by the army all the way up to the 1970s. Civil War soldiers mustered at the fort and learn how to fight. Truck parts made in detroit was shipped trough the fort during WWII. During the Korean War and Vietnam War Thousands of enlistees and draftees were sworn in at the fort. It is open for tours on the weekend during the summer for a $5 donation.

I have a lot more photos and stories to share about the old fort, It would be too much for me to do in one post so I will share them over the next few months.

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Ada Covered Bridge

Posted on July 20, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Bridges, Historic Places .

Near Grand Rapids is the town of Ada. Rix Robinson built a trading post near present-day Ada in 1821 and made the first land purchase in 1833. A post office was established in 1837. Both the township and village settlement were named for Ada Smith, the daughter of the first postmaster. A Michigan historical marker proudly describes the history of the one of a kind bridge wooden bridge in Ada and it reads:

An act of the legislature in 1867 authorized Ada Township to borrow up to $3000 for the purpose of building or repairing bridges in the township. This bridge was built about that time, apparently by William Holmes. The design for the trusses was patented by Josiah Brown in 1857. A timber bearing his name was uncovered during repair work. The bridge has been threatened by floods a number of times. It is said that farmers used to drive wagons loaded with stone onto the bridge during high water to hold it to the foundation. The bridge was closed to automobile traffic in 1930 and restored by the Kent County Road Commission in 1941.

If you are ever in the area be sure to stop by and walk across the bridge. It is like walking back in time.

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The Flamingo Club

Posted on June 26, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Historic Places .

The town of Idlewild near Baldwin was started as a resort town for African Americans in the early part of the 1900s. Because of descrimination, many African Americans were limited to where they could vacation. Called the “Black Eden of Michigan”, from 1912 through the mid-1960s, Idlewild was an active year-round community and was visited by well-known entertainers and professionals from throughout the country. The Flimingo Club opened in 1955 was a popular place for many of the top African American entertainers to perform such as Sarah Vaughan, Jackie Wilson, and the Four Tops. After the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 opened up more opportunities for African Americans to purchase cottages and vacation in other parts of the state, the popularity of Idlewild declined. By 1968, the Flamingo Club closed.

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The Old Jail

Posted on May 6, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Historic Places, Iconic Buildings .

Big Rapids became the county seat of Mecosta County in 1859 and incorporated as a city in 1869. This building served as the county jail and sheriff’s residence from 1893 until 1965.It’s the oldest public structure in the original plat of the village of Big Rapids, it features gable and hip roofs and turrets characteristic of Queen Anne style architecture. A tunnel ran underground from the old jail to the courthouse for inmates to be transferred for court appearances.

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