Thumb Archives - Page 2 of 8 - Lost In Michigan

Lost In Pinnebog

Posted on April 25, 2022 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Ghost towns, Thumb .

I saw this old building, or at least what is left of it in the town of Pinnebog. It’s located near the tip of the thumb on the Pinnebog River. It was started back in the 1840s as a lumbering town. Another sawmill town had the same name, but when they established a post office the town changed its name to Port Crescent. That is where the state park is now and is named after the former town.

Some of the buildings from Port Crescent were moved to Pinnebog. I am not sure if this one was one of them but maybe it could have been. There is only a few houses left in the small town and I am sure it has been a long time since it heard the whirring of saw blades at the sawmill.

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A Watertown Service Station

Posted on April 2, 2022 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Forgotten Places, Thumb .

I saw this old service station in Watertown in the middle of the Thumb. I am not sure if it is an old Sinclair station or made to look like one but either way I like it.

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Deford

Posted on March 19, 2022 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in small towns, Thumb .

Roaming the back roads in the middle of the thumb I came across the small town of Deford. The Grand Trunk Railroad came through the area in 1883 and a station was named Bruce for local landowner Elmer Bruce. Arthur Newton founded the village around the station and renamed it after his friend Mr. Deford. I saw these old buildings in town. I am sure they were not around when the town was first founded but the looked old. The faded hand painted sign on the one building looks like it had the word BLACKSMITH on it.

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Columbia Crossroads

Posted on February 15, 2022 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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The House of Seven Gables

Posted on January 17, 2022 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Houses, Thumb .

The house of Seven Gables in Huron City, near the tip of the thumb, is a beautifully preserved Victorian home, sits on a bluff overlooking Lake Huron. It was named by William Lyon Phelps, for the house of the same name in the Hawthorne novel. This is the third house built on this site. The forest fires of 1871 and 1881 destroyed Forestview and Lakeview, its predecessors.

The house has large double parlors, a graceful stairway, an elegant Victorian dining room, and is home to a portion of William Lyon Phelps’ personal library

Annabel Hubbard decorated Seven Gables in 1886 for her father Langdon Hubbard. After her marriage to William Lyon Phelps, Annabel added “modern” bathrooms and updated several rooms in the early 1900’s. Seven Gables has always been owned by family members. The furniture you see is original to the house and major portions of the house still have the original 1886 decorations, giving you a unique view into history.

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The Stone Home in the Thumb

Posted on November 15, 2021 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Houses, Thumb .

I think this has to be one of Michigan’s most unique houses. It is near Lake Huron south of Lexington. This one-of-a-kind house was hand-built using stones and sand from Lake Huron by Valentine Falzon, a stonemason from Malta. The Eiffel Towers and Leaning Tower Of Pisa on the fence is an interesting design element.

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The Port Hope Chimney

Posted on October 7, 2021 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Thumb .

From a distance, this tall structure in Port Hope looks like a lighthouse since it is so close to Lake Huron near the tip of the Thumb. After you get up close to it you realize it is something different. Thankfully there is a historical marker next to it that tells you what it is and its significance. Maybe I am one of the few people that bother to read the signs but I appreciate them. In this day and age of google sometimes a plain old sign still works extremely well and reads:

This chimney was built in 1858 by John Geitz. It is all that remains of the lumber mill established that year by William R. Stafford. Port Hope grew up around the mill. For a score of years, this town was the center of lumbering in the Thumb. It also became an important producer of salt. In 1871 and again in 1881 the mill, the docks, and possessions of hundreds of people were destroyed by fire. This chimney is a monument to those pioneers who by their courage and industry developed this area.

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The Original Fire Station in the Thumb

Posted on September 29, 2021 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Fire Houses, Thumb .

This old white and red building caught my eye when I was passing through Sebewaing. The sign above the garage door reads, Sebewaing Fire Dept. Station No. 1. The other sign says: Original 1883 cost $620. I am not sure when it closed but a new fire station sits a few blocks away. I am pretty sure the new one costs a lot more than $620 to build. The old station is privately owned.

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Mayville Barn

Posted on September 21, 2021 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Barns and Farms, Thumb .

I saw this old barn somewhere near Mayville in the Thumb. I am not sure exactly where it is located because I was just roaming the backroads to see what I could find. I figure this barn is rather old since it has a stone foundation. It looked nice standing in the farmland.

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The Spring in the Thumb

Posted on September 16, 2021 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Thumb .

Where M-24 crosses the Evergreen Creek between Mayville and Lapeer is a small roadside park. In the middle of the park is a stone and wooden structure with a natural spring where water flows out. It is a nice place to stop for a break on a road trip around the farmlands of the lower Thumb.

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