Michigan Historical Markers Archives - Page 2 of 8

A Woman’s Courage

Posted on May 22, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Michigan Historical Markers, people .

Next to the Genesee County courthouse in Flint is an ordinary looking Michigan historical marker. It has two names on it. One side with a woman’s name and the other side with a man’s name. It is a reminder of a remarkable person who lived in Flint over a century ago.

Sarah Emma Edmonds was born in Canada in 1841. To escape her abusive father she dressed as a man and immigrated to Flint in 1857. During the Civil War, on May 25, 1861, she enlisted as Franklin Thompson in Company F of the 2nd Michigan Infantry, also known as the Flint Union Greys. Extensive physical examinations were not required for enlistment and her true identity was not discovered. She served as a nurse and messenger and participated in several battles. She also dressed as a woman and became a spy for the Union. In 1863 Emma (or Frank) became ill and she deserted the army before she was found out to be a woman.

In 1864, Sarah wrote a book about her experiences in the Civil War titled The Female Spy of the Union Army. One year later, her story was picked up by a Hartford, CT publisher who issued it with a new title, Nurse and Spy in the Union Army. It was a huge success, selling in excess of 175,000 copies. Edmonds donated the profits from her memoir to various soldiers aid organizations. She continued to travel the country lecturing and sharing her remarkable story.

In 1867, she married Linus. H. Seelye, a mechanic and a childhood friend with whom she had three children. All three of their children died in their youth, leading the couple to adopt two sons. She petitioned the government to change her desertion charge and on July 3, 1886, Congress granted Sarah Emma Edmonds Seelye an honorable discharge from combat duty and a pension of $12 a month. She is the only female to be admitted into the veteran’s organization the Grand Army of the Republic and is laid to rest in a G.A.R. section of Washington Cemetery in Houston after she died in 1897
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The Old G.A.R. Hall

Posted on May 20, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Michigan Historical Markers .

This old G.A.R. hall stands in the small town of Sunfield west of Lansing. The historical marker in front of it reads:

The Samuel W. Grinnell Post No. 283 was granted its charter by the Grand Army of the Republic (G. A. R.) on October 6, 1884. The post operated until 1934, at which time it was disbanded. Members built this hall in 1898-99. Dedicated in October 1899, it contains flags, medals, photographs and other mementos of the Civil War and of the Sunfield veterans of that war. Furniture, ritual equipment and records of this G. A. R. post are also kept here. In 1899 members planted and dedicated three maple trees at the front of the property, dedicating them to the memory of Generals Grant, Sheridan and Sherman. The two cannon on either side of the hall were brought to Sunfield by the G. A. R. in 1900.

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Marlette Train Depot – Michigan Historical Marker

Posted on March 19, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Michigan Historical Markers, Train Depots .

Flint and Pere Marquette Depot

The first twenty-five miles of track for the Port Huron & Northwestern Railroad opened from Port Huron to Croswell in 1879. Marlette residents lured the railroad by raising $15,000 toward construction of the tracks. The line extended from Saginaw Junction in St. Clair County to Marlette in January 1881, and Marlette and Mayville line opened in the fall. The Flint & Pere Marquette purchased the Port Huron & Northwestern in 1889. Flint contractor E.M. Stewart built this depot in 1890 with a double waiting room, an office and a baggage room. The Marlette Historical Society bought the building in 1999.

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The Bay View Inn

Posted on January 11, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Historic Places, Michigan Historical Markers .

I have driven past Stafford’s Bay View Inn near the lake in Petoskey many times. I finally stopped and got a pic and read the historical marker which reads:

J. W. Howard completed this spacious inn in 1887, naming it the Woodland Avenue House because of its proximity to that street. Later he called the hotel the Howard House. In 1923 the popular resort became the Roselawn in honor of Horace Rose, innkeeper at that time. Renamed the Bay View Inn, this building is now Stafford’s Bay View Inn and is one of the oldest seasonal hotels in continuous operation in the area. Carved out of deeded railroad property next to the village of Petoskey in 1875, the summer colony of Bay View began as a religious retreat. Then it became a cultural and educational center complete with a college and Chautauqua series. This inn is a center of hospitality in the swirl of local summer activities.

One of these days I am going to have dinner at the historic Inn. If you have ever eaten or stayed there let me know in the comments.

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The Bridge in Fallasburg

Posted on November 4, 2018 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Bridges, Michigan Historical Markers .

I was hanging out with these Canadian geese admiring the Fallasburg covered bridge. It’s a true piece of Michigan history that you can experience. I wonder what it would be like to ride across it in a horse and wagon. The Historical marker next to the bridge reads:

John W. and Silas S. Fallas settled here in 1837, founded a village which soon boasted a chair factory, sawmill, and gristmill. About 1840 the first of several wooden bridges was placed across the Flat River, but all succumbed in a short time to high water and massive spring ice jams. Bridge builder Jared N. Bresee of Ada was given a contract in 1871 to build the present structure. Constructed at a cost of $1500, the bridge has lattice work trusses made of white pine timbers. As in all covered bridges, the roof and siding serve to protect the bridge timbers from rot. Repairs in 1905 and 1945 have kept the bridge safe for traffic for one hundred years

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The South Haven Scott Club

Posted on April 29, 2018 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Historic Places, Michigan Historical Markers .

I was leaving South Haven, headed to Holland, and I passed this beautiful stone building. I thought to myself, that’s a beautiful but strange looking church. I circled back around and to take a photo and then I saw the historical marker on the side. I found out it wasn’t a church after all, but a temple to books. The marker read

This federated women’s club, founded as a reading circle in 1883 and named for Sir Walter Scott, merged with the Literary and Antiquarian Societies to build a clubhouse in 1892. John Cornelius Randall designed the sandstone Queen Anne structure, built by local artisans and completed in 1893. Two stained glass windows created in Austria portray Sir Walter Scott and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. This building has been in continuous use by the Scott Club as a cultural center providing fellowship for women of the area.

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The Historic St Mary Stone Church

Posted on March 11, 2018 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Churches, Michigan Historical Markers .

I love buildings and houses built with fieldstones. I think they are a reflection of the area since many of the stones are collected from the area and this beautiful old church in Manchester is no exception. A historic marker giving its history stands in front of it and reads:

The first Catholic church in the Manchester area was built by German settlers in Freedom Township in 1839 and dedicated to Saint Francis de Borgia. In 1863 Father Edward Van Lauwe was appointed pastor of Saint Dominic in Clinton, and Manchester was one of his missions. In 1870 thirty-five Irish families built the Church of the Assumption on Macomb Street in Manchester. Father Edwin Fisher, pastor of Clinton and its missions, became the resident pastor in Manchester if 1909. In 1911 local craftsmen built this Neo-Gothic inspired church from fieldstones collected by farmers and salvaged from the foundation of the hotel that had stood on the site. It was dedicated in January 1912. Father Fisher designed the church and erected similar fieldstone churches at his missions in Blissfield, Tecumseh, and Brooklyn.

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The Sanitarium

Posted on February 21, 2018 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Iconic Buildings, Michigan Historical Markers .

I remember back in the 90s watching a trailer for a movie called The Road To Wellville with Anthony Hopkins and Matthew Broderick or as I call him Ferris Bueller. I thought sure seems like a strange looking move and plot. Later I found out it was based on John Harvey Kellogg and his “unique” way of treating patients. I figured since I was in Battle Creek I had to stop and see the old Sanitarium. There is a historical marker in front of it that reads.

The Battle Creek Sanitarium opened in 1866 as the Western Health Reform Institute. The institute was founded on the health principles advocated by the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. In 1876, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg became the medical superintendent at the sanitarium. Kellogg’s many innovations included the use of radiation therapy for cancer patients and the invention of flaked cereal. The sanitarium burned in 1902; the following year a six-story Italian Renaissance Revival-style building, designed by Dayton, Ohio, architect Frank M. Andrews, was constructed. Kellogg’s brother W. K. Kellogg worked at the sanitarium for twenty-six years before leaving to establish the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flakes Company. The Battle Creek Sanitarium is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In 1928 the Battle Creek Sanitarium was enlarged with a fourteen-story “towers” addition and dining room annex designed by M. J. Morehouse of Chicago. After the stock market crashed in 1929, business declined; the facility went into receivership in 1933. The sanitarium continued to occupy the site until 1942 when the U. S. Army purchased the buildings and established the Percy Jones General Hospital, named for an army surgeon whose thirty-year career included commanding ambulance units during World War I. The hospital specialized in neurosurgery, plastic surgery and the fitting of artificial limbs. Approximately 100,000 military patients were treated at the hospital before it closed permanently in 1953. In 1954 the building became the Battle Creek Federal Center.

In 2003, the building was re-dedicated as the Hart-Dole-Inouye Federal Center in honor of three U.S. Senators who had met as wounded servicemen while they were being treated at the hospital during WWII: Philip Hart of Michigan, who had been wounded during the Normandy Landings at Utah Beach on D-Day, Bob Dole of Kansas, who was wounded in combat over Italy, and Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, who had been wounded while engaged in combat in Italy.

P.S. I still have not watched The Road To Wellville since it looked strange but maybe I should. I am sure I can find it on VHS somewhere.

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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.

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Reward Road Number 1

Posted on February 13, 2018 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Michigan Historical Markers .

East of Cass City on M81 next to the cemetery is a roadside park with a Michigan Historical Marker. There is also an old stone maker in the park and both of them recall the first mile of improved road funded by the state. The sign in the park reads:

The state highway system began with the State Reward Road program, created by the Michigan Legislature in 1905. The program provided “rewards” to local governments for road improvements made according to state standards. Horatio “Good Roads” Earle, the state highway commissioner, traveled the state drumming up interest in road improvements. Elkland Township was the first municipality to receive a reward. Spending $985, the township widened (to nine feet) and graveled one mile of rutted wagon road (Later M-81) between the corner of Elkland Cemetery and what became Crawford Road. The township then received a $500 reward. State Reward Road No. 1 marked the beginning of state aid for local roads.

I thought it was interesting the little town of Cass City was the first to take advantage of the state program to improve the roads. I imagine the farmers in the area must have been thrilled to have a decent road to get to town on. I think even before there were cars Michiganders complained about the roads.

P.S. I will be in Cass City at Rawson Memorial Library 6495 Pine St Monday, February 19, 2018 at 2:00 pm giving a presentation about my travels around Michigan, If you are in the area I hope you can stop by.

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