The Continental Fire Company organized in 1860 in Houghton built their new fire hall in 1883 and occupied the basement, which housed horses, and the main floor, which stored fire engines. Village offices were on the second floor. The Michigan Mining School, now Michigan Technological University, held its first classes on the second floor and
The concrete structures located at Alagator Hill in the Sleeping Bear Dunes were built in the 1950’s by lumberman Pierce Stocking as kilns to make charcoal. The sawmill he set up near this spot produced considerable waste that was converted to charcoal in the kilns and was packed in bags for shipment to stores in much of
In honor of Flag Day, I want to remember the man who was born in my hometown of Saginaw who designed our nation’s current 50 star flag. Robert Heft moved to Ohio when he was young. At the age of 17 in 1958 for a school project, he took his mother’s flag and sewing machine,
The Quincy Mining Company platted Hancock in 1859, a decade after the company began mining Keewanaw copper. While many copper towns boomed and busted within a short period of time, Hancock remained stable, incorporating as a city in 1875. By 1897, Hancock’s four thousand citizens wanted a government building that would reflect the city’s
While I was staying at Burt Lake State Park I took Cooper Dog out for a ride one morning. We headed east until we hit Lake Huron and since we could not go east anymore we then turned north along US23 to the 40 Mile Point Lighthouse. That was the first time I have ever
Commissioned in 1921, the Huron began service as a relief vessel for other Great Lakes lightships. She is ninety-seven feet long, twenty-four feet in beam, and carried a crew of eleven. On clear nights her beacon could be seen for fourteen miles. After serving in northern Lake Michigan, the Huron was assigned to the
I always admired the Statue of the Civil War Soldier at Oakwood Cemetery in my hometown of Saginaw. I always thought it was a statue of James N. Penoyer since his name is so prominently displayed on the plinth. As I went around Michigan taking photos and finding other Civil War statues I noticed something
On May 18, 1927, a dynamite blast rocked the Bath Consolidated School, shattering one wing of the building and resulting in the death of thirty-nine children and teachers; dozens more were injured. An inquest concluded that dynamite had been planted in the basement of the school by Andrew Kehoe, an embittered school board member. Resentful
This beautiful french renaissance castle on Woodward Ave designed by Louis Kamper was the home of railroad and ship-building baron Col. Frank J. Hecker.In 1888, Hecker hired architect Louis Kamper and began construction on the mansion at Woodward Avenue at the corner of Ferry. The Col. Frank J. Hecker House, with 21,000 square feet,
On February 13, 1871, twenty-two persons began Ovid’s First Congregational Church. The next year this structure was erected. George Fox served as master carpenter. Its first minister was the Reverend William Mulder. Originally located at High and Park Street, the church was pulled here by oxen in 1899 and turned to face Main Street. It
