Houses Archives - Page 23 of 28

Michigan’s Sleeping Bear Dunes Boekelodge

Posted on September 19, 2018 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Historic Places, Houses, Sleeping Bear Dunes .

The Boekelodge is in the southern part of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The cabin was originally built in the 1930’s and then left abandoned after a few years. In 1945, the cabin was purchased by the Boekeloo family and updated. A canal was dug from the plat river to flood the low-lying areas for a cranberry bog. The cabin overlooks a pond and is now owned by the National Park Service. A seasonal road off M-22 leads back to the cabin where you can hike the area including a trail that goes to Lake Michigan. It’s a lesser-known part of the National Lakeshore, and you have to know where to find Boekeloo Road, since there is no sign along M-22 telling visitors there is a lodge hidden in the woods. You can find more info and a detailed location of the Boekelodge and many other interesting locations in the Lost In Michigan book available on Amazon HERE

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House In The Woods

Posted on May 16, 2018 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Forgotten Places, Houses .

I saw this old house hiding in the woods near Mayville. I wonder what its story is. It’s amazing what you see wandering the back roads.

P.S. I don’t trespass, I just take pics from the side of the road.

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The Spirits at the Jewett House

Posted on May 1, 2018 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Haunted Places, Houses .

The grand old home about a block south of downtown Mason is known as the Jewett Home. In the 1930’s the Jewett family converted it into a funeral home and operated it until the 1990s. I was told that it was not uncommon for early funeral parlors to be in a house where the family that owned the business lives in the house. That seems really strange to me to live in a house with dead bodies, but it was normal back then. The house was originally built in 1855 by a wealthy developer, J.P. Coatsworth. Former Lansing Mayor Orlando Barnes once lived in the home and during the Great Depression, it was operated as a tea house. I wonder what kind of “tea” they sold during Prohibition and if there were spirits in the tea. It wasn’t until the Funeral home closed and the house was rented out when people who lived there have said they heard strange noises in the home. I am not sure if it’s haunted, but I am intrigued by the cupola on top of the roof. I wonder what the view is like from that little room. The house sold recently and is a private residence.

Lost In Michigan Calendars are ON SALE and in stock, you can order them from my website HERE

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The Little Old Farmhouse

Posted on April 18, 2018 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Houses .

I was traveling around the east side of the state and I came across this little old farmhouse somewhere between Twining and Au Gres. I gave a presentation to Mrs. Bayn’s photography classes at Tawas High School and I took the long way home to see what I could find. I saw this old house and thought it was interesting enough to take a photo of it.

P.S. I was looking forward to going up to Tawas in April figuring spring would have sprung, but I was wrong, it was more like winter.

I hope you will subscribe to email updates. Since Facebook prioritizes your friends a family they will not show you many of my posts, I promise I won’t email you a bunch of junk email, it’s only to notify you of a new post which will be two or three times a week.

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The Haunted Page House

Posted on March 15, 2018 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Haunted Places, Houses .

Narcissa Page (or Paige since I have seen it spelled both ways), owner of the Page House hotel in St. Louis, built this mansion in 1884. Her contractor, Mr. Leach, built Col. Elwell’s “castle” down Delaware Street at the same time. you can see my post about it HERE I read somewhere that the tower on the house was built so Narcissa could see her hotel from it. Mrs. Page’s daughter Lillian lived with her and she married George Charles who owned a drug store downtown and built the Charles Building. Sadly George passed away at an early age of 44 and soon after Lillian’s mother died at the age of 80 years old leaving Lillian to live in the house alone for almost 50 years.

People think there is a tombstone in front of the house, but it is actually a carriage stone with the name Page on it. A carriage stone served as a stepping stone to help passengers as they climbed in and out of carriages and were popular back in the horse and buggy days of the 19th century.

There are stories of the house being haunted and Susan Wood who lived in the house with her family was kind enough to message me about living there. She told that she never felt the house was “haunted” but she felt that Lillian’s spirit was still present in the house. “Locked doors opened and closed on their own, things would come up missing only to found in a totally random place a few days later, you could hear her moving up and down the massive staircase as the steps would creak.” The house has been vacant for years and the neighbors have said they have seen a woman in the window and have heard piano music come from inside the house.

as far as I know, the house is still privately owned, so please do not trespass and be respectful, I know I should not have to say it, but a few people out there don’t think very well and do stupid things.

You can read about other Interesting locations in the Mitten State with a Lost In Michigan book Available HERE or on Amazon HERE

The Most Beautiful House In Michigan

Posted on February 16, 2018 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Houses, Michigan Historical Markers .

About 20 years ago I drove past this ornate house near downtown Muskegon and I thought to myself, this is the most beautiful house I have ever seen. In the years since I have seen many other breathtaking houses in Michigan but the Hackley house is still at the top of my list. I am not sure why it’s taken me so long to go back and see it but I finally did and it still is an amazing home.

Charles Hackley moved to Michigan with his father and began working as a laborer in the sawmills. He worked his way up to become bookkeeper at the mill and then he partnered with Thomas Hume to create a successful lumbering company. In 1887 he built this stunning Queen Anne style home in Muskegon. To keep his family warm in the winter the house has seven fireplaces. It’s really hard to capture the detail of the woodwork along with its ornate 13 color paint scheme. This is one of those places that you have to see for yourself. You can learn more about the house and find out when it’s open for tours HERE

P.S. There is a rumor that Charles Hackley has ties to the Confederate gold moved after the end of the Civil War. The myth is that it was loaded on a train car and then pushed into Lake Michigan off a car ferry in a storm. I am not sure how true the story is but the History Channel is doing a show about it in March of 2018.

Find Interesting locations throughout the Mitten State with a Lost In Michigan book Available on Amazon by clicking HERE

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The Mid-Michigan Castle

Posted on January 27, 2018 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Houses .

If you have ever traveled through the central Lower Peninsula on M-46 you have probably seen the ornate Victorian mansion in St. Louis. The massive white wooden castle-like home was constructed by Colonel John Elwell. He invested in the Chicago, Saginaw, and Canada Railroad and made a fortune when he turned the company around after it had been struggling to make a profit. John Elwell rose to the rank of Colonel for his service to the civil war and he moved to St Louis in 1875. He purchased the whole block on Delaware Street in 1880 and finished construction of his elaborate home in 1884. He lived in the home until his death in 1910.

Find Interesting locations throughout the Mitten State with a Lost In Michigan book Available on Amazon by clicking HERE

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Michigan’s Stone Home

Posted on January 13, 2018 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Houses .

Coming into Alpena from the south on US-23, you can’t miss this magnificent stone house that looks like a castle facing towards Thunder Bay. The house was built in 1902 by Charles R. Henry. After he died in 1926, it was inherited by his son the prominent Alpena attorney Carl R Henry, who was the president of the Michigan Bar Association in the 1930’s.

The house took two years to build and most of the stones used in the construction of the 18″ thick walls came from Cathro north of Alpena, but some of the stones were given to Mr. Henry by friends. One of the largest stones came from the Bottom of Lake Huron when it was brought up in a fishing net. There are stones from Hubbard Lake, Black Lake, Long Lake and Onaway and one stone from Colorado.

Lost In Michigan books are ON SALE this weekend on Amazon HERE

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The Heritage House

Posted on December 9, 2017 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Houses .

George M. Nason (1859-1929) built this house in 1907-1908. The Nason family had emigrated from Northampton, England to Buffalo, New York, in 1832. George’s father, Robert (1831-1907), came to Chesaning in 1852 and engaged in farming and lumbering. In 1861 he purchased fifteen hundred acres of land about five miles from Chesaning and erected a sawmill. For over a decade, he also engaged in prosperous land speculative activities and by 1881, he was considered to be one of Chesaning’s wealthiest men.

He built this Georgian Revival style house near downtown Chesaning as a monument to his family’s success in the lumbering business. Its exterior features stately Ionic columns. A grand circular opening between the first and second floor dominates the interior. Nason family members lived in the house until 1945. The building remained a private residence until 1980 when it was opened to the public as an elegant dining establishment called the Chesaning Heritage House. Sadly the resturant closed about 10 years ago and the house sits empty.

Wall Calendars are almost gone. I only have a few left now is a good time to get one if you want one. you can order them HERE

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The Big Red House

Posted on November 9, 2017 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Houses .

I took a trip to southeast Michigan and my goal was to get to New Baltimore. Unfortunately, I did not make it that far. I got to roaming around and taking a bunch of pics along the way and time was not on my side. I went through the town of Dryden and this big old dark red brick house stood out and I had to stop and take a photo of it. I wish I knew more about the history of the home. I do know that the town was named after poet John Dryden.

Lost In Michigan Books and Calendars are on SALE this weekend. they help me with expenses to do this website I hope you will check them out HERE.

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