Category Archives: small towns

Small Town Memorial

Posted on by Posted in small towns, Thumb .

I was traveling through the Thumb and I went through the small town of Minden City. In front of city hall, the Stars and Stripes were proudly waving in the spring breeze. at the base of the flagpole was a stone with the words:

Dedicated in memory of those who served our country that we may live in freedom.

A town may be small, or in a for away location, but it does not diminish the appreciation a community has for the sacrifices made by those who served.  It is always nice to the American flags and memorials on my journey to remind me how lucky I am to have the freedom to roam this beautiful country.

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Lost In Columbiaville

Posted on by Posted in General Store, small towns .

I was going through my archive of photos from my travels because I can’t or will not travel right now. I came across this pic of an old building in Columbiaville that I never posted. I am not sure what this place is or was but it looks like an old general store at one time.

In 1848 a sawmill was built by George and Henry Niver, on the bank of the river. The town became known as Niverville until 1857, when the first post office was established. A town named Niverville existed in Michigan, so a new name was needed. Columbiaville was suggested by the Nivers, after their native county Columbia, NY.

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Maybee the best Little Town In Michigan

Posted on by Posted in small towns .

In southeastern Michigan is the small town of Maybee located somewhere between Milan and Monroe. With a name like Maybe I hade to drive through it on one of my road trips. I looked up the history hoping there was a funny story to the town’s name but it was named after Abram Maybe who settled the area in the mid-1800s

As the sign reads on the road heading into town “MAYBEE the best little town in Michigan” It seems like a nice little town to me so I am not going to argue with them.

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World Famous Eau Claire Michigan

Posted on by Posted in small towns .

So I am hanging out at home flipping through the five hundred channels of nothing on TV. I get to ESPN2 and they were showing the World Championships of Cherry Pit Spitting. Living in Michigan I have spit a few cherry pits in my lifetime so I had to check it out. I figured it would be someplace like Traverse City but it was in the small southwestern town of Eau Claire.

Normally I would be scratching my head and looking up on google where Eau Claire is located, but I remembered taking a pic of this old building in downtown Eau Clair. I guess when sports are on hold, ESPN has to show something and I will say it was much better than the world championships of sign spinning and the hamburger eating competition. I can only imagine what they are gonna show next weekend.

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If you are wondering the world record distance for cherry pit spitting is at 110 feet 4 inches.

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Applegate

Posted on by Posted in small towns .

Traveling the back roads I go through many small towns like Applegate which is located in the Thumb between Sandusky and Lexington.ne year before Michigan officially became a state George Pack built a sawmill in 1856 where Applegate stands today. The town was named after Jesse Applegate who lead the party which opened up the southern route to Oregon.

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The Ghost Town of a Ghost Town

Posted on by Posted in Ghost towns, small towns .

Believe it or not this small town in southern Michigan got its unique look from the invention of Kitty Litter. In the 1940s people used sand for their litter boxes and one day Ed Lowes neighbor asked him for some sand for her litter box. He gave her some dried up clay granules instead for her to try. She was amazed at how well it worked and that was the inspiration that created Ed’s multi-million dollar business Kitty Litter and Tidy Cat.

In the 70s Lowe had the idea of converting downtown Jones into a wild west looking ghost town for a tourist attraction. It seems like an odd location located between Cassopolis and Three Rivers. I am assuming he thought it would flourish with Swiss Valley Ski Resort being only a few miles away. Sadly the town did not attract the business Lowe was hoping for and slowly the buildings faded away. The town of Jones has several residents  and is not a true “ghost town” but the buildings along Main Street still have the remnants of the former tourist attraction facades

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Getting Lost In Millville

Posted on by Posted in small towns .

Zig-Zagging through Lapeer county, around the ponds and rivers, a few miles north of Lapper, I came across this old church that looks to be converted into a house on Millville road. Nearby was an old schoolhouse and more houses along with the Plumb Creek flowing through the countryside.  I found out it was on this creek that Horace Lathrop built a sawmill in 1837. It was the start of the town of Millville. Like many sawmill towns in Michigan, the timber around it was all cut down. The sawmill moved, leaving the little town’s population to dwindle. I was still intrigued to find this beautiful brick church in the Lapeer countryside, I guess that’s why I continue to take the long indirect way to get to where I want to go.

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An Old Sawmill

Posted on by Posted in Mills, small towns .

While driving through the town of Blanchard this old barn looking building caught my eye. Because it’s next to a dam on a creek and it has Dewitt Lumber Co on the side I can only assume it was a sawmill. According to its website, Dewitt Lumber Company is the oldest family-owned lumber supplier in Michigan. It was started in Blanchard in 1890. It is interesting the things you find and learn on a road trip to somewhere you have never been to before.

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The Old Building in Eau Clair

Posted on by Posted in Grain Elevators, small towns .

This old building with the peeling red paint stands in the center of Eau Claire. I am not sure what it is or was but I am thinking some sort of granary. The name of the town is French for “clear water” and is named after a nearby spring.

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The Town That Moved

Posted on by Posted in small towns .

The town of Thompsonville does not consist of a lot of houses or buildings these days. It was originally by the Betsie River when it was founded by Sumner S. Thompson who operated the Thompson Lumber Company. After the railroad bypassed the town the buildings and houses were moved next to the tracks. I am guessing if they had not done it, that it would not show up on the map today.

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