Historical Marker Archives - Lost In Michigan

Eaton County Courthouse

Posted on July 4, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in courthouses, Michigan Historical Markers .

The Eaton County Courthouse Square is a rare Michigan example of an intact nineteenth-century government complex. The showplace of the square, the stately Renaissance Revival courthouse built in 1883-85, was designed by D.W. Gibbs & Company of Toledo, Ohio. The interior features several marbleized slate fireplaces, stained glass and native butternut trim. A cast zinc statue of Justice crowns the building and towers above the city. On July 4, 1894, fire destroyed much of the courthouse. The structure was rebuilt almost exactly to the original plans. The 1873 Second Empire sheriff’s residence, built with an attached jail, is one of only a few of its age remaining in the state. The courthouse square is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

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The Italian Hall in Calumet – Michigan Historical Marker

Posted on December 22, 2015 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Historic Places, Michigan Historical Markers .

On December 24, 1913, area copper miners had been on strike for five months. The miners were fighting for better pay, shortened work days, safer working conditions and union recognition. That day, during a yuletide party for the striking miners and their families, someone yelled, “Fire!” Although there was no fire, seventy-three person died while attempting to escape down a stairwell that had doors that opened inward. Over half of those who died were children between the ages of six and ten. The perpetrator of the tragedy was never identified. The strike ended in April 1914.

The Italian Hall was built in 1908 as headquarters for Calumet’s benevolent society. The Society, organized along ethnic lines, encouraged and financially aided immigrants and provided relief to victims of hardship. Following the 1913 Christmas Eve tragedy, the hall continued to be used for nearly five decades. The two-story red brick building was razed in 1984. Through the efforts of the Friends of the Italian Hall and Local 324 of the AFL-CIO, the site of the building became a memorial park dedicated ot the people who lost their lives in 1903.

an Historic Photo of the hall I found in the Public Domain, you can see the doorway that remains as a memorial on the left side of the building.

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40 Mile Point Ligthouse – Michigan Historical Marker

Posted on June 8, 2015 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Lighthouses, Michigan Historical Markers .

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 been there and did not know what to expect but I was surprised to find a lot more then the lighthouse. They have the pilot house from the S.S. Calcite and a shipwreck on the shore ( that’s a post for another day) Since I had Cooper the wonder dog, I did not want to leave him in a hot Jeep while I went inside to check out the lighthouse, so I guess that will have to be a trip for another day.

There is actually two historical markers located there. one for the lighthouse which reads

During the late 1800s, the U.S. Lighthouse Board created a system of coastal lights along Lake Huron’s Michigan shore so that mariners would always be within sight of at least one. With a light south of Forty Mile Point on the Presque Isle Peninsula and one one to the north at Cheboygan, and eighteen mile stretch of shoreline remained unlighted and dangerous. In1890 the board recommended that a light be built at Forty Mile Point. The light was completed in 1896, and Xavier Rains served as the first keeper, The lighthouse was transferred to Presque Isle County in 1998, but the Coast Guard retained ownership of its Fresnal lens. The site was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

And the other marker is for the Lake Huron Graveyard of ships which reads

Named by seventeenth century French explores La Mer Doucethe sweet or freshwater sea, Lake Huron is the second largest of the five Great Lakes. It has over 3,800 miles of shoreline and contains 30,000 islands, among them Manitoulin, the world’s largest freshwater island. Violent storms on the “sweet sea” have made it dangerous for ships. As of 2006, 1,200 wrecks had been recorded. During the Big Blow of 1905, twenty-seven wooden vessels were lost. One of these, the steamer Joseph S. Fay, ran aground. A portion of its hull rests on the beach approximately 200 feet north of the Forty Mile Lighthouse. The Great Storm of 1913 was responsible for sinking many modern ships.

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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.

If you live near Bay City or Midland Lost In Michigan books are available at Coyer Candle. You can find out more about their locations on their website HERE

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Brighton Old Town Hall – Michigan Historical Marker

Posted on November 6, 2014 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Library, Michigan Historical Markers .

Settled in 1832 by Maynard Maltby, this community was originally called Ore Creek for the stream that flows through it. In 1838 its name was changed to Brighton. It was incorporated as a village in 1867 and as a city in 1928. In 1878 the village council voted to build this hall. Local contractor James Collett completed it in 1879. The hall originally housed village council offices, a voting room, a jail and a firehouse. Its one-room weekend library grew into the public library that it housed for all but nine years from 1927 to 1981.

The Castle in Grand Rapids – Michigan Historical Marker

Posted on August 25, 2014 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Houses, Michigan Historical Markers .

Designed by local architect William G. Robinson, this castle-like edifice was constructed in 1884-86 for Colonel E. Crofton Fox and his brother Charles. Built of granite block imported from Scotland, this house is a fine example of Chateauesque Style architecture. A Heritage Hill landmark, this house features leaded and stained glass windows, and a metal stair dormer superbly crafted to resemble stone. Its interior is adorned with parquet flooring in the entry hall and a carved oak staircase. It was refurbished as a restaurant in 1978.

The Fox Brothers, Ethelbert Crofton (1852-1904) and Charles (1853-1915), local lumber barons, built this structure as their home. These brothers were partners in a Grand Rapids lumbering firm, Osterhout, Fox & Company, and accumulated vast wealth. Appointed to the State Military Board by Governor Cyrus Luce in 1887, E. Crofton, a colonel, was twice elected president of that organization. He was also associated with with banking and was treasurer of the City Board of Trade. Charles was the founder of the Michigan Trust Company, established in 1889.

Currently it is the office of Stonecastle Dentistry

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St Mary’s Hospital – Michigan Historical Marker

Posted on August 21, 2014 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Michigan Historical Markers, Uncategorized .

The need for medical facilities in fast-growing Saginaw valley led Father Francis Van der Bom and Dr. Benjamin B. Ross to organize support for a hospital. It opened with the arrival of four Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul on August 22, 1874. The original frame house proved inadequate; in 1875 a new building was begun on this site and the hospital incorporated as St. Mary’s. Its first patients were principally injured lumbermen. The staff devised a health insurance plan of $5 a year to raise funds. Over the years the hospital expanded and modernized to care for more patients as well as to provide an increasing variety of medical and educational facilities. As it moves into its second century St. Mary’s anticipates a future of continued care and service.

The Medical Miracle at Mackinac Island

Posted on July 14, 2014 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Historic Places, Michigan Historical Markers .

On June 6, 1822, an employee of the American Fur Company on Mackinac Island, named Alexis St. Martin, was accidentally shot in the stomach by a discharge of a shotgun loaded with a buck shot from close range that injured his ribs and his stomach. Dr. Beaumont treated his wound, but expected St. Martin to die from his injuries. Despite this dire prediction, St. Martin survived – but with a hole in his stomach that never fully healed. Unable to continue work for the American Fur Company, he was hired as a handyman by Dr. Beaumont.

By August 1825, Beaumont had been relocated to Fort Niagara in New York, and Alexis St. Martin had come with him. Beaumont recognized that he had in St. Martin the unique opportunity to observe digestive processes. Dr. Beaumont began to perform experiments on digestion using the stomach of St. Martin. Most of the experiments were conducted by tying a piece of food to a string and inserting it through the hole into St. Martin’s stomach. Every few hours, Beaumont would remove the food and observe how well it had been digested. Beaumont also extracted a sample of gastric acid from St. Martin’s stomach for analysis. In September, Alexis St. Martin left Dr. Beaumont and moved to Canada, leaving Beaumont to concentrate on his duties as an army surgeon. Beaumont also used samples of stomach acid taken out of St. Martin to “digest” bits of food in cups. This led to the important discovery that the stomach acid, and not solely the mashing, pounding and squeezing of the stomach, digests the food into nutrients the stomach can use; in other words, digestion was primarily a chemical process and not a mechanical one.

During 1826 and 1827, Dr. Beaumont was stationed at Fort Howard in Green Bay, Wisconsin. In 1828 he was transferred to St. Louis, Missouri. While en route to St. Louis, Alexis St. Martin was ordered to stop at Fort Crawford in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, to serve as Dr. Beaumont’s handyman again. In early 1831, Dr. Beaumont conducted another set of experiments on St. Martin’s stomach, ranging from the simple observation of normal digestion to the effects that temperature, exercise and even emotions have on the digestive process.

Beaumont published the account of his experiments in 1833, as Experiments and Observations on the Gastric Juice, and the Physiology of Digestion. He and St. Martin parted ways, with Beaumont eventually going to St. Louis, Missouri, and St. Martin to his home in Quebec province, Canada. Off and on for the next twenty years, Beaumont tried to get St. Martin to move to St. Louis, but the move never occurred.

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The Michigan Historical Marker next to the American Fur store reads:

On June 6, 1822, Alexis St. Martin (1804 ~ 1889), a French Canadian voyageur, was accidentally shot in the American Fur Company store located on this site.. Dr. William Beaumont (1786 ~ 1853), The Fort Mackinac post surgeon nursed St. Martin back to health. St. Martin’s wound healed, leaving a permanent opening into his stomach. Through this opening Beaumont compared the digestibility of foods, recorded the temperature of the stomach under different conditions, and extracted and analyzed gastric juices. Beaumont conducted the first of 250 experiments with St. Martin in 1825 in the Officers’ Stone Quarters at Fort Mackinac. Eight years later he published a groundbreaking book on his discovery of the digestive process.

Kempf House – Michigan Historical Marker

Posted on June 13, 2014 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Houses, Michigan Historical Markers .

Cast iron grilles in an ancient Greek floral motif highlight the frieze of this temple-front Greek Revival house. Built in 1853 for Henry D. Bennett, Secretary and Steward of the University of Michigan, it became the home and studio of local musicians Reuben H. and Pauline Widenmann Kempf in 1890. Trained in Germany, Mr. Kempf (1859 – 1945) taught piano and organ, Mrs. Kempf (1860 – 1953), a graduate of the Cincinnati Conservatory, taught voice. The city of Ann Arbor purchased the house in 1969, and in 1983 it became the Kempf House Center for Local History.

Trinity Episcopal Church in Caro – Michigan Historical Marker

Posted on May 1, 2014 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Churches, Michigan Historical Markers .

I like old wooden churches. Sometime the paint is flaking off, but it seems real, many older churches were covered in plastic vinyl siding, I know its “maintenance free”, but it just comes off a machine somewhere and stuck on, wood is natural, and came from a tree that was grown with the sunlight from heaven and watered with Gods love. Protecting the wood, is paint applied from a brush with human hands. I also like that you can still see the corner stone laid in 1881 A.D.

The historical marker reads

“This skillfully designed board and batten Gothic Revival church, first served local Episcopalians in 1880. The congregation had been formed in 1871, the year the town was incorporated. During the 1870s Caro grew to be a major commerce center for the Thumb Area. By the 1920s, however, church membership dropped and the building was sold to the Nazarenes. In 1974 preservationists saved the church from demolition.”