This complex of buildings on the shore of Portage Lake north of Hancock in the Keweenaw Peninsula is the Quincy Smelter. You can also see the ruins of the old smelter across the lake from Houghton. Built by the Quincy Mining Company, the smelter used to heat and chemical processes to turn copper ore into
The Ann Arbor Rail Depot, located in the town of Shepherd near Mt Pleasant, was originally built in the early 1890’s and served the Shepherd area until the early 1960’s when the cost of rail shipping just could not compete with the trucking industry and passenger travel by rail had been long gone and given
I saw this old building near the small town of Boon. I am not sure but it looks like an old schoolhouse. The little town of Boon is kind of in the middle of nowhere west of Cadillac. Whenever I drive down M-115 I always see the sign for it and wonder how the town
Northeast of Hesperia, deep within the Manistee National Forest, is Benton Lake. It is a small lake completely surrounded by wilderness other than a little rustic campground. As legend has it, back in 1874, a stagecoach was transporting gold coins to a nearby logging camp. The coins were to be used for payroll for the
This is the James Scott residence on the corner of Peterboro and Park in the Midtown District in Detroit. James Scott’s father also named James Scott was a prominent businessman in Detroit and when he died in the 1870’s he gave a large fortune to his son. He built this house in 1887, but from
Standing at the east end of downtown Holland’s shopping district, is the old city hall and Firehouse. I wonder how many people notice this stately old building while they are out shopping or enjoying a meal at one of the pubs. I know it’s not forgotten for there’s a historical marker out front recalling its
This brick house with the gingerbread style roof and beautiful stained glass windows was constructed in downtown Plymouth in 1875. It was built for Henry William Baker who was the president of the Plymouth Iron Windmill Company. With windmill sales struggling the company decided to giveaway an air rifle with the purchase of every windmill.
Yes, there is a town in Michigan called Podunk. Actually, there are a couple of towns, in a few different counties called Podunk. This old schoolhouse in the forgotten town of Podunk is a few miles northwest of Gladwin. I could not find any info about the town other than the name and location, I
I see a lot of interesting things at local parks around Michigan. From historic monuments to old locomotives but the park in Boyne Falls has some old jail cells on dislplay. They go back to the lumbering days when they needed to incarcerate rowdy lumberjacks. It is rather strange to see them in a park
The first lighthouse in St. Joesph was erected in 1832 on the shoreline and was the second lighthouse constructed on Lake Michigan. Two piers were extended out into the lake in 1870 to protect the ships entering the St. Joseph River, and a beacon was placed at the pier-head. In the early 1900s, the war
