Bay county Archives - Lost In Michigan

St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church – Michigan Historical Marker

Posted on January 12, 2016 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Churches, Michigan Historical Markers .

Between Bay City and Freeland, German missionary Pastor Ferdinand Sievers organized St. John Church in June 1852 to serve a colony of German migrants, some fleeing the turmoil that followed the European revolutions of 1848. Initially, the church met in a log cabin that once housed recent arrivals to the colony of Amelith. In 1870 a wood-frame Gothic style church was built. The present structure was completed in 1912. Schools run by the church began in 1853 with instruction in German surviving until World War I. Some church services continued in German until 1979. During World War II, German prisoners housed at Freeland Camp were ministered to by St. John Lutheran. An addition to the church was completed in 1997.

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The Homes of Center Avenue in Bay City

Posted on March 2, 2015 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Houses, Michigan Historical Markers .

Diving down Center avenue in Bay city I feel like I am traveling back in time as I go past the old historic mansions. At either end of the historic district is a Michigan Historical Marker that reads:

Center Avenue presents one of the most spectacular displays of late nineteenth and early twentieth century residential architecture in Michigan. Between 1870 and 1940 Bay City’s prominent citizens favored Center Avenue as “the” place to live. Early in this period lumbermen built lavish residences. After 1900 lumbering declined and the city’s economy diversified. Leaders in the sugar beet, coal, shipbuilding, and other industries built stylish homes that reflected their substantial fortunes. Local architects such as Pratt and Koeppe, Clark and Munger, and Philip Floeter designed many of the buildings. Monumental churches and other public structures, like the Masonic Temple, compliment the residences. Center Avenue is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

here are some of my favorite homes in the district

Henry & Luella Clements House 1890

The sign in front of the home reads:

Henry worked with his father James and brother William at Industrial Works, designers of a rail-mounted shovel and cranes employed at the Chicago Columbian Exposition and the Panama Canal. His house is unusual in Bay City because it is one of the few Queen Anne Style homes built of brick. Instead of ornamental trim, bricks are placed in decorative patterns to accentuate the structure’s shape and composition. The first floor plate window is framed with a distinctive Romanesque arch of rusticated stone, displaying the Victorian tendency to mix styles. In 1913 Hector McKinnon, president of McKinnon Boiler and Machine Co., purchased the house, followed in 1920 by Judge Samuel Houghton, who prepared the charter that united Bay City and West Bay City

James Shearer house 1876

James Shearer was a builder in Bay City and besides building this beautiful home, he built several buildings in Michigan, including the building Mill End which was recently raised to build new condominiums. He also was chosen by the Governor of Michigan in 1871 to supervise the construction of the state capital.

Louis & Nettie Goeschel House 1875

The sign in front of the home reads:

Little is known of John Jones, the original owner of the house. It was sold to the Goeschels in 1887. Louis was a well-known businessman, starting out as grocer and venturing into insurance and foreign travel. He hired Pratt & Koeppe to do major remodeling of the house in 1888. The house remained in the Goeschel family for three generations, passing to daughters and husbands, until 1964: fi rst to Nova G. & Russell S. Eddy (1929), and then to Marion E. & Paul E. Wendland (1947). This beautiful Queen Anne style house was modernized in the 1950s by removing most of the porch and covering the house with aluminum siding. The porch was reconstructed and the siding removed to reveal and restore architectural details in 2006-2008

Fremont Chesbrough House 1889

The construction of the house started in 1889 and took three years to build. The 8975 Sq foot home has 5 stories and a Tiffany Stain glass window which is visible on the first and second floors. Each room has a different wood, White golden mahogany in the front parlor, Cherry and walnut in the second parlor. Fremont and Matilda lived in the house from 1891 to 1916. The lot for the house sold for $3,500 and the total cost of building the home was close to $30,000 and at the time the most expensive home on Center Avenue. Fremont’s brother Francis lived in a wood Victorian home jut one block from Fremont’s home.

Victorian Era Home

I could not find any information on this grand old Victorian Queen Ann home but not knowing its history does not detract from its grandeur. if you know anything about it I would love to know.

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St. Stanislaus – Michigan Historical Marker

Posted on February 27, 2014 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Churches, Michigan Historical Markers .

In the second half of the nineteenth century, Polish refugees who escaped Prussian domination settled in Bay City. In 1874 they formed a society under the patronage of St. Stanislaus Kostka of Poland. To fill the needs of this Polish-speaking community, a wooden church was built and dedicated on December 13, 1874, on a site donated by William D. Fitzhugh. During the pastorate of Father Marian Matkowski, this grand Neo-Gothic church was erected at a cost of over $60,000. Bay City architects Pratt and Koeppe provided the plans. The cornerstone was blessed in June 24, 1890, and the church was dedicated on July 17, 1892, by Bishop Henry J. Richter of Grand Rapids.

St. Stanislaus Bay City Michigan

First Presbytiran Church in Bay City

Posted on February 5, 2014 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Churches, Michigan Historical Markers .

Michigan Historical Marker

First Presbyterian Church in Bay City

In 1848, James G. Birney and his wife led Bay City’s earliest Presbyterian services in a schoolhouse. Birney twice ran unsuccessfully for president of the U.S. on the antislavery ticket. The Reverend Lucius Root organized the First Presbyterian Church of Lower Saginaw on September 5, 1856. Services continued to be held in the schoolhouse and other public buildings until the first church was built in 1863. In 1886 church elder Alexander Folsom donated $50,000 for the founding of a college in “northern” Michigan. His donation funded the organization of Alma College. In 1906 the college established the J. Ambrose Wight Memorial scholarship fund in honor of First Presbyterian’s minister.

In 1884 the Reverend J. Ambrose Wight challenged the members of the First Presbyterian Church to “go forward and build a church that will be a lasting gift to the future.” The Reverend Wight (1811 – 1889) feared that Bay City’s prosperity, gained through the lumber and salt industries, would not last. When the church was dedicated on June 4, 1893, the Bay City Times-Press declared it a “Magnificent Temple.” Like the City Hall, which was build four years later, the Ionia sandstone church was designed in the Richardsonian style by local architects Pratt and Koeppe, and reflects Bay City’s wealth at that time. The bell, cast in 1866, served as a public timepiece and tolled three times daily.

First Presbyterian Church 805 Center Ave Bay City Michigan