Parks Archives - Lost In Michigan

Contacting the Dead in Grand Ledge

Posted on December 1, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in autumn, Parks .

this old wooden barn-like structure sits near the back of Fitzgerald Park in Grand Ledge. It was built by the Grand Ledge Spiritualist Camp Association who built a summer camp at this spot in the late 1800s. Spiritualism was a popular movement in the late 1800s where people believed they could communicate with the deceased. This pavilion was built for the group to hold seances. The popularity of Spiritualism faded in the early 1900s and the city of Grand Ledge purchased the property. In the 50s the pavilion was converted into a summer theater.

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The Ruins in Onaway

Posted on November 12, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Forgotten Places, Parks .

Awakon Park in Onaway Michigan was the site of the American Wood Rim Company. While most of the factory is gone a few structures and remnants remain. Started in 1901 to build wood bicycle rims the company began building wooden automobile steering wheels in 1904. With the success of their steering wheels and the booming auto industry, the company had 1200 employees. It was in 1926 that a fire started by a spark that killed 4 workers and destroyed much of the factory. It was decided to move the factory to Alma instead of rebuilding it in Onaway. The park has a trail that is about a half-mile long the winds through the property where the old factory once stood. You can still see some of the concrete structures and signage gives a little history of the forgotten plant.

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The Grand Ledge in Autumn

Posted on October 18, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in autumn, Nature, Parks, Uncategorized .

Along the Grand River in Fitzgerald Park are these magnificent rock outcroppings and cliffs. They truly are grand ledges and give the town they are located in its name. I find it strange that I have lived in Michigan for a half-century and have explored many places and I just now visited this wonderful place. I felt like I was hiking in the northwestern Upper Peninsula instead of the Central Lower Peninsula. If you are looking for someplace to explore, you need to check out the Grand Ledges for yourself, because you can’t capture its breathtaking beauty in a photograph.

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Irontone Spring

Posted on October 4, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Nature, Parks .

North of Gaylord is a roadside park. I small creek runs through it with a couple of bridges that cross the flowing water. The water comes from a natural spring known as the Irontone Spring. The park is Frank Wilkinson Park named in honor of Frank Wilkinson who was the first Otsego County road commissioner. He owned the property and deeded it to the county after his death.

Next time you are heading up north take a break from I-75 and travel along old 27. Be sure to stop at the little roadside park at Irontone Springs.

P.S. I found on the internets that there is a fountain with spring water that you can drink but it was not flowing while I was there. Maybe someone forgot to pay the water bill to Mother Nature.

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Antique Alley

Posted on October 25, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in autumn, Nature, Parks .

This row of old forgotten vehicles, abandoned from an old sawmill town, is deep within the Groen Nature Preserve. The preserve is in Otsego County near Johannesburg. The property once belonged to Louis M. Groen. He invented the Filet O Fish sandwich and owned 43 McDonalds franchise locations. After his death, he donated the property to Otsego County for use as a nature preserve.

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The Park Haunted by the Woman In Blue

Posted on October 9, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Haunted Places, Parks .

The identity of the woman in blue is a mystery. Some believe she is the spirit of a runaway slave the died while traveling the Underground Railroad to freedom. She has been seen in McCourtie Park near Somerset Center in southern Michigan. No one knows who she is or why she would be haunting the park since there are no records of a tragic event that happened in the location of the park. They say she is most often appears at dusk wearing a Victorian-era blue dress. people have witnessed her walking through the park and then suddenly vanishing. Others have heard footsteps and the sound of crunching leaves and twigs only to turn around and nothing is there.

The park was originally the estate of W. H. L. McCourtie. He had a large house and an underground lair where he entertained guests during prohibition. He made his fortune in cement and oil and he hired artisans to construct concrete bridges over the creek that ran through his property. After his death, the house was not maintained and was razed. The land was donated to the community and now used as a park. It is well worth a trip to the park to see marvelous bridges and if you hang out long enough, you might see the woman in blue.

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You can read more about McCourtie park in my post here https://lostinmichigan.net/concrete-bridges-mccourtie-park/

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