I came upon this old forgotten house somewhere in the Chippewa Hills area. It looks as if it has been worn down from years and years of Michigan weather. If walls could talk I can only imagine what stories they would tell. I wonder when the last Thanksgiving meal was shared inside.
Thank you for Subscribing to Lost In Michigan, If you have not subscribed yet, It would mean a lot to me if you did.
I saw this beautiful old house in Battle Creek. The historical marker in front of it reads:
Three generations of doctors made this structure their home. The attractive Victorian house was built by Dr. Arthur H. Kimball in 1886. Kimball, a city health official, came to this area in 1883. His son, Arthur S. Kimball, became Battle Creek’s first pediatrician, founded the local chapter of the American Red Cross and established clinics for the poor. Arthur S. Kimball, Jr., gained national recognition for his work in the treatment of tuberculosis. In 1966, heirs of the Kimball family donated the property to the Junior League for use as a museum.
I always seem to find these beautiful old buildings at the wrong time of year. I wish it was green and the flowers in full bloom. I like to explore no matter what time of year it is, I guess I will have to go back to Battle Creek sometime in the spring and see what else I can find while I am there.
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 house with the tower in the front stands in the town of Marshall and inspired a book that was made into a movie. The historic Cronin House is located down the street from the high school. John Bellairs, born in 1938, grew up in Marshall Michigan and walked past this house on his way to and from school. Bellairs went on to become a successful author of fantasy novels. He wrote the book The House With a Clock in its Walls in 1973 inspired by the Cronin house. In 2018 the book was made into a movie starring Jack Black and Cate Blanchet.
Thank you for Subscribing to Lost In Michigan, If you have not subscribed yet, It would mean a lot to me if you did.
I was roaming the back roads near Howard City when I came across this old farm house being taken over by nature. I am not sure what its story is but I imagine at one time there was a family that lived in it and it holds many memories. As usual I only take pics from the road and these old houses mesmerize me.
Thank you for Subscribing to Lost In Michigan, If you have not subscribed yet, It would mean a lot to me if you did.
Near the shores of Lake Huron in Hoeft State Park is a pleasant little house that is available for visitors to rent. This is no ordinary house since it is a historic Sears mail-order kit house. Built by park rangers and the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1929, it was erected on the road the leads into the campground. The model was the Sears-Roebuck Rodessa, but the floor plan was modified by the builders so the house could accommodate two ranger’s families if needed. The house has three bedrooms and sleeps up to eight people. It includes a Sunroom, game room, master bedroom with an attached bathroom. Sears Catalog Homes were catalog and kit houses sold primarily through mail order by Sears, Roebuck and Company. Sears reported that more than 70,000 of these homes were sold in North America between 1908 and 1940. More than 370 different home designs in a wide range of architectural styles and sizes were offered over the program’s 33-year history.
If you’re looking for a house to stay at in northern Michigan, check out the lodge at Hoeft state park. Or next time you are at Hoeft and drive past it going to the campground, you will know a little bit about this magnificent little lodge.
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 big old red and green house stands near the tip of the Thumb in Port Austin. It is now known as the Garfield Inn but it was originally built by Charles G. Learned. A historical marker stands next to it and reads:
A native of New York, contractor Charles G. Learned helped build New York City’s water-works system and the Erie Canal. Around 1837 Learned and his brother-in-law purchased several thousand acres of pine land in Michigan’s Thumb area. Two years later, Learned and his wife, Maria Raymond, came to Port Austin and bought a house and three acres at this site. Learned’s cutover pine land became a 2,000-acre farm where he prospered as an agriculturalist and dairy farmer. With profits from his lumbering and farming enterprises Learned enlarged and updated this house in the French Second Empire style. In the 1860s Ohio congressman, later president, James A. Garfield, a family friend, was a frequent guest here. From 1931 to 1979 the house served as the Mayes Inn and Tower Hotel.
There were rumors that President Garfield was smitten for Charles Learned’s wife Maria and that president requested that he travel to Port Austin to see her after being shot, but he was not permitted to travel and died from his gunshot wounds.
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 beautiful old Queen Anne Victorian house stands in Marine City. It was built in 1882 by Captain James Taylor and designed by famed architect George F. Barber. I love the gray and pink paint scheme and the weathervane shaped like a schooner.
Thank you for Subscribing to Lost In Michigan, If you have not subscribed yet, It would mean a lot to me if you did.
There are several beautiful old houses along the St. Clair River. I saw this one in Marine City along with several others but those posts will have to wait until another day.
Thank you for Subscribing to Lost In Michigan, If you have not subscribed yet, It would mean a lot to me if you did.
I have seen some houses and buildings around the Mitten State that have been constructed using local field stones and rocks. This one is unique because the stones were shaped to be square and rectangle blocks. It was difficult for laborers to hand chisel these rocks into shape but it is a beautiful work of masonry. The house is located in the town of Hart near US-31 east of Silver Lake. It was constructed in the late 1800s for a local physician and druggist Harvey Jenner Chadwick. It later became the home of L.P. Munger, a physician and fruit-grower. It eventually became the offices of the Health Department for Oceana County and in the 1980s it became part of the Oceana County Historical Society.
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 Alva Kepler log cabin in Manistique’s Pioneer Park next to the water tower. The rustic house dates back to the 1880’s and was once part of the Byers’ settlement in Hiawatha Township, 12 miles north of Manistique. The cabin was part of the cooperative community known as the “Hiawatha Village Association.” It was formed in the 1890s when people were struggling from an economic depression at the time. About two hundred people agreed to turn over there assets to the community and live in the village. They had about 225 residents the first year and grew crops and made goods to sell in Milwaukee.
After the first year they were not successful because they could not sell there crops and the cost to ship the products they made were more than they could sell them fore. When Alva Kepler and his brother John were supposed to move into the village the following year they sued to withdraw from the community. Shortly afterwards many other people sued and the homes and items were split up among the members ending the short lived experiment.
Thank you for Subscribing to Lost In Michigan, If you have not subscribed yet, It would mean a lot to me if you did.