Traveling down M-25 from Bay City into the Thumb you pass through the town of Unionville. The sign welcoming travelers proudly says “Gateway To The Thumb” The town was founded in 1854 when Horace C. Marvin built the first home in the area. He also built and operated a general store and was the town’s
The old coal tower and railroad station in New Buffalo was a busy place decades ago. It was the largest train yard in Southwest Michigan and many steam trains would stop to get fuel and water. The old station is now a railroad museum and I am thinking it has been a long time since
St Helena Island lies on the western side of the Straits of Mackinac and the lighthouse was constructed in 1872 to guide ships past the island. This was the first Michigan lighthouse to lose its keeper. In 1922, the lighthouse was automated and the tower was fitted with a tank of acetylene gas, a pilot
I saw this old schoolhouse south of Standish. according to Google Maps it shows the town of Worth nearby so maybe this was the school for the town in its heyday. It looks like someone is in the process of fixing it up. It’s just another old country schoolhouse that I have found but don’t
This beautiful brick church stands among other historic buildings in the West Michigan town of Hart. The Sackrider Church was built in 1897 in Elbridge Township. In 1988 it faced the wrecking ball so a group of citizens had moved it to its current location in Hart. Since then several other buildings have been moved
This Victorian-era house in Coldwater is amazing. It was built by attorney Frank Skeels in 1886 and the woodwork on the outside is unbelievable. I can only imagine what it would cost to build a house like that today. P.S. Lost In Michigan wall calendars are now available in my Zazzle.com store HERE Thank you
I was roaming around the town of Michigamme in the Upper Peninsula and I saw a sign for the Dompierre House. It is an old log cabin that sits on the Michigamme Historical Society property. I walked up to the house and took a few pics then looked in the upper left window and my
Along Rattle Run Road is an old cemetery. It is all that remains of the town of Rattle Run. The town was named after the Rattle Run river that runs nearby. The creek was given the name because on a quiet night the water running over the pebbles made a rattling sound. The town is
This impressive-looking courthouse with its clock tower stands in the northern Lower Peninsula town of Onaway. It was constructed in 1908 by Meritt Chandler and donated to the county in the hopes to take the county seat away from Rogers City. Merritt Chandler was born in 1843 near Adrian, Michigan. He made a fortune in
Near Grand Rapids is the town of Ada. Rix Robinson built a trading post near present-day Ada in 1821 and made the first land purchase in 1833. A post office was established in 1837. Both the township and village settlement were named for Ada Smith, the daughter of the first postmaster. A Michigan historical marker
