The Croton Dam is on the Muskegon River east of Newaygo. The dam was completed in 1907 and was technologically advanced in its day. Engineers came from around the world to learn how it produced electricity. When I was there recently the gates were open and water rushed over the dam like a mighty waterfall.
I saw this big old farmhouse on the backroads somewhere southwest of Cadillac. Don’t ask me where it is because I could not tell you. I was zig-zagging around the area and I have no idea of exactly where this house is. It looks like it has been a while since someone lived in it,
In 1873 Peter Van Dyke built this Beautiful second empire-style home in Lapeer. In 1924 the grand old house was converted into a nine bedroom hospital with surgeries taking place on the upper floor. Back in the day, it was common for large houses to be used as a hospital. Doctors did not have the
Somewhere between Ovid and Elsie I came upon this massive octagon barn. I am not exactly sure of the purpose of an octagon-shaped barn. The most well-known one in Michigan is in Gagetown. In the late 1800s, octagon-shaped houses were popular and I guess a few barns were built in that configuration also. I was
This massive brick building in Belding sits near downtown across from the library. Built in 1906, Belrockton is the last remaining boardinghouse of the three provided by the Belding Brothers and Company for its single female workers. A major silk manufacturer in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the company employed hundreds of young
The Calumet Fire Station (also known as the Red Jacket Fire Station) is located on 6th Street in Calumet, Michigan, and was designed by Charles K. Strand, a local Architect in the Richardson Romanesque design. In the rear of the Fire Hall, was the stable for the six horses used to pull the fire
This old church stands in the small town of Berville at the base of the Thumb. I don’t have a story to go with it but I thought it was a pretty little church on an Autumn day. Thank you for taking the time to look at my posts and I hope you have a
Roaming around Michigan, I visit a lot of towns and cities. Hesperia is located along M-20 on the west side of the state at the southern part of the Manistee National Forest. The town was platted in 1866 and there are two stories of how Hesperia got its name. The first was that it was
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
This old cannon stands next to a VFW post along the Red Arrow Highway near Watervliet in southwest Michigan. I pass by a lot of VFW posts that have decommissioned military equipment such as tanks and canons, but this particular cannon is unique and rare. It dates back to World War I. The wooden chassis
