Category Archives: Historic Places

The Historic Mill Site

Posted on by Posted in Dam, Historic Places .

I have been going through some of my old photos because I have not been traveling much. I took this pic of the old historic mill site on the Shiawassee River in Corunna. The nearby sign said it was the site of the mill that was constructed in 1843. I read somewhere a while ago that there were plans to remove the old dam. I am not sure if it still there but I thought I would share this photo from my archives.

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Elk Rapids’ Island House

Posted on by Posted in Historic Places, Library .

Michigan has some spectacular and impressive library buildings throughout the state.  This library in Elk Rapids is rather unique being in a historic house on an island. Known as the Island House, it was built in 1865 by local businessman Edwin S. Noble.  He converted a four-acre sand bar into an island by covering it with clay and dirt and planted over sixty different species of trees on it. After building a bridge to the island he lived in the house with his family. Noble died in 1922 and in 1949 the house became a public library.

It reminds me of a quote by Lemony Snicket “A library is like an island in the middle of a vast sea of ignorance, particularly if the library is very tall and the surrounding area has been flooded.”

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Chum’s Corner

Posted on by Posted in Historic Places .

If you have ever been to the Traverse City area you have probably driven through the M-37 and US-31 intersection.  It is a busy intersection with a lot of traffic and businesses. Fast food restaurants, a Rite Aid, and Walgreens ( where there is one you will find the other) and Menards along with a gas station. I never stopped to take any pics since most places are rather common and ordinary.

The thing that is not ordinary is the name. On Google maps, it is called Chum’s Corner. The question of who is Chum and why was the corner named after him or her stuck in my brain.  I came across this old photo showing Chum’s Service station. The writing on the photo reads “Ask Chum- He might know” I wish I could because I am sure he could tell some stories of travelers back in the day. The station is gone but the corner is still named after him. So I guess if you are wondering about Chum and his corner like I was. As Paul Harvey would say ” now you know the rest of the story” or at least some of it.

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The Poorhouse on the Red Arrow Highway

Posted on by Posted in Historic Places .

This big old three story brick house was built in 1884. It served as the county’s poorhouse for almost a century. It stands west of Paw Paw on the Red Arrow Highway. Able-bodied destitute people worked in the fields growing food for the residents. They also cared for the mentally and physically disabled people who lived in the house. The farmland is now part of the county fairgrounds and the house is used as a museum ran by the county historical society.

Poorhouse records show 36 people were buried in a nearby cemetery but with the graves being unmarked the old “potter’s field” cemetery has not been located.

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Northern Michigan Asylum

Posted on by Posted in Historic Places .

Northern Michigan Asylum was established in 1881 as a psychiatric hospital near downtown Traverse City. As treatments and care changed for patients over the decades the hospital was outdated and closed in 1989.  Many of the buildings have been renovated and repurposed into office spaces and retail shopping and dining. The complex is now called The Village at Grand Traverse Commons. A few of the old asylum buildings are still waiting to be renovated like the one in the photo. If you are ever in Traverse City be sure to check out the shops in building Building 50.  You can see more at their website HERE

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Pioneer Log Cabin

Posted on by Posted in Historic Places, Houses .

This old log cabin was built south of Cassopolis with logs donated by local citizens. It was built in 1923 to honor the pioneers that settled in the area. It was meant to be a temporary structure for a Pioneer Day celebration, but it has stood next to the shores of Stony Lake for almost a century. It operates as a museum during the summer months.

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Sand Point’s Lifesaving Boat House

Posted on by Posted in Historic Places .

Few people visit this old forgotten boathouse with a link to our maritime past. Northeast of Munising past the Munising Falls visitors center is the former Sand Point Lifesaving Station. It is now used as offices and living space for the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. I think a lot of visitors head out that way and just figure they are only buildings used by the rangers.

The boathouse used by the Lifesaving Service has been somewhat restored and houses an old lifesaving boat and equipment used by the men who were stationed there. When I visited the doors were open and people were welcomed to tour the inside and read the signs explaining all the items contained within.

It is a great little place to visit especially if it is late in the evening. You can get a good view of the sun setting. Across the water is Grand Island and you can get a view of the East Channel Lighthouse.

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Camp Lunden’s Little Michigan

Posted on by Posted in Forgotten Places, Historic Places .

These small ponds dug in the shape of the Great Lakes are located on County Road 612 between Lewiston and M-33. They are what remains of a Civilian Conservation Corps Camp.

A few months after Franklin Roosevelt created the CCC the camp was created outside of Lewiston and given the name Camp Lunden. It was one of 103 camps in Michigan.  Men training to be draftsmen and civil engineers arrived. In their spare time, they dug the ponds created the shape of Michigan at the entrance. The camp closed in 1936 and only the ponds remain along with a historical marker to mark the spot where the CCC camp once stood.

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The Michigan House on the Underground Railroad

Posted on by Posted in Historic Places, Houses .

Cars zoom past this old brick two-story house on M-60 but I wonder how many people know the story of its past. The home is west of the town of Vandalia in southwestern Michigan. In the mid-1840s James E. Bonine and his wife built this house and by 1853 they were one of the largest landowners in Cass County. As members of Young’s Prairie Anti-Slavery Friends and staunch abolitionists, they helped many runaway slaves that were searching for freedom on the Underground Railroad. They hid many slaves in their carriage house across the street. The home is currently owned by the Underground Railroad Society of Cass County.

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Sinclair

Posted on by 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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