Thumb Archives - Lost In Michigan

Getting Lost and Finding the Kingston School House #2

Posted on April 10, 2021 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Schools, Thumb .

Heading east on M-46 I got to the town of Kingston and when I get to a small town I like to drive around the area to see what I can find. I saw an old barn off in the distance so I headed out to it, then I saw another old barn and headed over that way, and then for whatever reason I turned down another road and about a mile or two down the road, I saw this old schoolhouse on a farm. The Kingston School #2 built in 1892 is surrounded by an electric fence, ( not that I trespass, I always stay on the road and respect other people’s property.) but it looks as if the cows wander around the old school. I thought to myself, maybe the farm has some smart cows since they have their own school. Sometimes I know where a location I want to photograph is before I go on a road trip, but I love it when I find something interesting by pure chance.

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St. Patrick’s Church

Posted on March 17, 2021 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Churches, Thumb .

St. Patrick’s Church in Clifford began in 1879 with visits from Father Clement Krebs, pastor at St. Agatha Church in Gagetown. It later became a mission of St. Elizabeth in Reese, Sacred Heart in Brown City, and most recently SS. Peter and Paul in North Branch. In 1884 the Diocese of Detroit acquired property here and built this simple Gothic-inspired church. The stained-glass windows admit light into the sanctuary and honor the parish’s Irish founders. Father Krebs presided over the first wedding in the partially completed church in August 1886. St. Patrick’s originally served the communities of Marlette, North Branch, Mayville, Kingston, Silverwood and Wilmot. Among the pastors who served the parish was the Father Charles Coughlin, who ministered here in 1924-25 and later gained notoriety as “the Radio Priest” in Royal Oak.

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The Octagon House Near Mayville

Posted on February 23, 2021 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Houses, Thumb .

Near the town of Mayville is a unique looking octagon house with a cupola on the roof. The house was built in 1870 by William Randall. He was a Canadian born carpenter who traveled the United States working on construction projects. He retired and took up farming in Mayville and living in the house until his death in 1882. After he died The house and farm passed onto his son and his wife. Octagon houses were popular in the late 1800s because of Orson Fowler’s book A Home for All, which promoted the octagon form as a healthy place to live. This is one of a few octagon houses in Michigan that still stands today.

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The Old General Store in Watrousville

Posted on February 10, 2021 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in General Store, Thumb .

If you have ever driven down M-81 in the Thumb you have probably gone past this old building in the small town of Watrousvlle. The historical marker next to the building reads:

Aaron Watrous and his crew of loggers came here in the thumb in 1852 to cut the virgin pine of the Cass River Valley. In 1860 he platted the town naming it Watrousville, and a few years later constructed this building as a general store. The flagpole in front is thought to have been erected during the 1864 presidential campaign. Watrous died in 1868, and in 1882 the building became the Juniata Township Hall. Since 1972 it has been a museum of the Watrousville-Caro Area Historical Society.

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Columbia Crossroads

Posted on January 27, 2021 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Schools, Thumb .

A few miles south of Unionville is an old schoolhouse. Above the door is the lettering 1909 Columbia Dist. No. 2. Most of the old schools I find have the date when they were constructed, but I have never seen the date when they closed. I am not sure when this old schoolhouse last taught children inside its brick walls. However, I did find out that the school was part of a small town called Columbia Corners. The community started in 1854 and it had a post office from 1879 until 1903. Not much of the town exists today, but I wonder how many kids learned to read and write in the little schoolhouse.

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An Old Farmhouse

Posted on January 22, 2021 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Houses, Thumb .

This old lonely forgotten house is near Watrousville in the Thumb. During these cold Michigan winter nights, I imagine there was a large family living in it that kept warm by the heat of the fireplace. I know people who heat their house with wood, and they do a lot of cutting and splitting. Myself being a lazy city boy, I just go over and turn up the thermostat, and burn some more gas. I was told when you heat with wood, ” it keeps you twice as warm, once while you are splitting and stacking it, and then again while you burn it”. This old house looks like it used a lot of wood to keep warm. I hope you are safe and warm wherever you are at.

Note: I only take pics from the road and do not trespass.

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Seeking Refuge in Harbor Beach

Posted on January 6, 2021 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Lighthouses, Thumb .

Ships sailing along Lake Huron between Port Huron and the tip of the Thumb in the early 1800s had few places to seek refuge from the gales of November. Or any storm that whips up for that matter. A small harbor helped in Harbor Beach, but It was decided in the mid-1800s to build a break wall to create a safe haven for ships from the fury of Mother Nature. In 1885 a lighthouse was built replacing a light on a wooden frame. It guides ships to the opening in the break wall welcoming them to safety. It about a mile of shore but you can get a good view of it from a pier at the end of Trescott Street in Harbor Beach. I took this pic with a long telephoto lens. On Saturdays, in the summer you can take a boat to the lighthouse for a guided tour. here is their website for more info https://harborbeachlighthouse.org/

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The Side Doors in the School

Posted on December 27, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Schools, Thumb .

I saw this old school on a farm near Bad Axe. I took this pic from the road and don’t trespass, but the doors on the side have me wondering what they were used for. The entrance is in the front so I am wondering if the side doors were an attached outhouse. One for boys and one for girls but it is only an uneducated guess.

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The Stone Church on Lake Huron

Posted on December 13, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Churches, Thumb .

I was passing through the town of Lexington and I saw this majestic stone church. It is St. Denis Catholic Church and construction was started in 1880. It took two years to complete and it was dedicated in 1882. It still stands on M-25 looking toward Lake Huron and it’s hard to miss the incredible stonework as you drive past it.

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The Big Yellow House in Port Sanilac

Posted on November 23, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Thumb .

This Second Empire style mansion was built in the 1870s by Doctor Joseph Loop. A native of New York, Loop moved to Oakland County, Michigan, in 1843. he and his wife, Jane Gardner Loop pioneered this land in Sanilac County in 1854, and after graduating from the University of Michigan medical department in 1855, he opened a practice in Port Sanilac. When this home was built, he kept an office on the lower floor, and serviced a forty-mile circuit, bringing medical care to much of the county. Doctor Loop died in 1903 at the age of ninety-three, leaving the home to his only child, Ada. She and her husband, the Reverend Julius Harrison passed it in turn to one of their sons, Captain Stanley Harrison. In 1964 he deeded it to the Sanilac County Historical Society for a museum.

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