Schools Archives - Lost In Michigan

The Silent School In Boyne City

Posted on March 25, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Schools .

I love hanging out in downtown Boyne City. It has some wonderful bars and restaurants and nice gift shops to explore. A few blocks north of Downtown I saw this old building which I am safe to assume was a school. It is strange how there are no windows in the front other than the one in the center. I figure that must be where the chalkboards were hung. It reminds me of the Lincoln School in McMillan HERE. I am not sure what is happening with the old building now but it looks as if it has been a long time since school kids learned to read and write within its walls.

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The Curious Case of the Octagon Building

Posted on March 17, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Forgotten Places, Schools .

A few yeards off the road is an old octagon shaped block building slowly being consumed by the forest in Sauble Township, in Lake County. I saw one website that had it listed as a schoolhouse, but I am not sure it was at one time. I looked at an old plat map and it did not show a school at its location. A piece of plywood covers the brickwork above the door where a school name usually would be. From the research that I did, I found out that it was not uncommon to build an octagon school. They were especially popular in the late 1800s in the New England area, and many are found in Pennsylvania. I am not exactly sure what this old building was originally used for, but it is interesting to see seemingly in the middle of nowhere.

Because Amazon has pushed back shipping of books I have started selling books from my website. I have them in stock and you should have them in a few days if you live in Michigan. You can order them HERE

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The Old Brick Schoolhouse

Posted on March 8, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Forgotten Places, Schools .

I saw this old brick building on the backroads somewhere near Remus. It looks like it was an old schoolhouse at one time but I am not sure.

Without any history, I don’t have much of a story to tell so I am just gonna say thank you for taking the time to read my daily posts. I am looking forward to the warmer weather and the time change is nice. I think we should just leave it this way.

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Brick Schoolhouse

Posted on February 20, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Forgotten Places, Schools .

I saw this old brick school somewhere southwest of Alpena. It looks as if school has been out forever for a while since the trees are slowly growing around it. Unfortunately, I was not able to find any history about it I can only hope that the students that learned within its walls went on to do great things.

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Big Red School

Posted on February 11, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Schools .

I have driven past this old building on M-25 east of Bay City several times. It looks like an old school but I have never been able to find any information about it. It looks to be a lot larger than just one room but it looks as if it has closed many years ago. I think it is used as a farmers market now. Anyways, I thought it was an interesting old brick building and looked beautiful in the white snow and blue skies.

If you live near Bay City, Lost In Michigan books are available at Coyer Candle Co. in downtown and Midland. You can visit their website for more HERE.

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Star City: a Fallen Star and Ghost Town

Posted on February 4, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Ghost towns, Schools .

I love the name Star City, It sounds like a promising place full of celebrities with glitz and glamor. In reality, it is or was in the middle of nowhere west of Houghton Lake in the center of the Mitten. An old schoolhouse and cemetery are all that remains of the town. I found a couple of different references to it but I am not sure how accurate they are.

One story I found claimed that Star City was originally named Starvation Lake after a local trapper who was found dead in his cabin from starvation. In an attempt to sell property for farming and hunting around the small city, developers renamed the area Star Lake. Unfortunately, the name change did not help and the developers went bankrupt. Eventually, people began referring to the small town as Star City.

The other reference I found says that the settlement dates from approximately 1872. A post office named “Roy” Opened February 27, 1880, with Chauncey Brace as the first postmaster. The name changed to “Putnam” on June 6, 1883, with Elizabeth Putnam as postmaster. The name changed again to “Star City” on February 13, 1885 and was discontinued on December 15, 1923.

Whichever is true ( maybe a little bit of both ) the town is mostly forgotten now. This old schoolhouse knows the story but unfortunately, walls don’t talk.

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Reynolds Schoolhouse

Posted on January 21, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Schools .

I saw this old wooden building somewhere near Dundee. I figured it looked like an old schoolhouse with a light fixture above the door. Unfortunately, a sign was no longer attached to the wall for the light bulb to illuminate. I did a little research and I think it was the Reynolds Fractional School. If you are wondering like I was, a fractional school is one that teaches students from more than one township. Even though this old schoolhouse no longer has students learning inside its walls. It is still around to teach this old dude a few new things.

P.S. Even though it has a no trespassing sign on the front of it. I still do not trespass sign or not. I enjoy looking at them from the road. If you see an old house or building I hope you will respect the owners, even if the owner may be the taxpayers of that community.

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Lincoln School

Posted on December 19, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Schools, upper peninsula .

While passing through the town of McMillan near Newberryin da U.P. I saw this old school building and I had to stop and take a pic of it. I am thinking it has not been used in a while but it looks like it is in great shape and someone is taking care of it. I thought it was strange there are almost no windows in the front wall. I guess that is where the chalkboards are hung. I found out it was called the Lincoln School and funny enough I found this old postcard of almost the exact same angle as the photo I took, you can see it on Amazon HERE

P.S. I asked my daughter who is in high school if she ever used a chalkboard and she did not know what I was talking about. I told her it was a dark green or black slate hung on the wall and we used chalk to write on it instead of the whiteboards you have now. She said “that just sounds weird”

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Ruins of Assinins’ Orphanage

Posted on November 26, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Ghost towns, Schools, upper peninsula .

Only a small portion of the orphanage is still standing hidden behind the trees. The building once stood three stories tall and housed several children. Located in the small town, which is almost a ghost town, Assinins Is near US-41 a few miles north of Baraga.

Assinins was founded in 1843 by Bishop Frederic Baraga, who came to the area at the invitation of Chief Edward Assinins. Baraga built the Old St. Joseph Orphanage and School on the site in 1860. Over the years the orphanage was expanded and other buildings including a school were built. The structures were last used in the 1960s and in recent years they have collapsed.

This is a pic from Wikipedia of what the building looked like in 2009

The area is now a National Historic District and next time you are traveling along US-41 it’s worth a quick stop to check out the area and old cemetery.

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Hillsdale

Posted on November 12, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Schools .

In southern central Michigan is the town of Hillsdale where you will find the campus of Hillsdale College. It was founded in 1844 by a group of Freewill Baptists organized Michigan Central College at Spring Arbor. The college was the first in Michigan to grant degrees to women. The campus was moved to Hillsdale in 1853 and chartered by the legislature in 1855, the school was renamed Hillsdale College under an independent board of trustees, its only controlling organization. The charter opened the institution “to all persons… irrespective of nationality, color or sex.”

Time to announce the winner of the Lighthouse Calendar Giveaway, congratulations to Sally Slicker, she is the winner. please email me your shipping info to mike@huronphoto.com and I will send out your calendar.

Thank you all for the kind comments they are heartwarming to read. I wish I could send you all a calendar. If you did not win you can order calendars HERE

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