Wine, History, and Art

Trinity Church

Date Visited:  August 3, 2019

Stop:  #38

We were about to find out why it seemed so busy in Lexington on this perfect summer day.  If you recall, in my blog for Stop #36, Struck by Cupid’s Arrow (https://michiganwinesandsigns.blogspot.com/2020/03/two-for-one.html), I mentioned that there seemed to be a lot of people in town.  Trying to avoid making a left hand turn onto Main Street, I thought making a right hand turn onto Simons St. as we exited the parking lot from the Lexington Brewing Company and Wine House would allow me to circle the block and get to Huron Ave. where I could make my left turn at the stop light.  Alas, that turned out to be an impossibility.  The first street we came to (Washington St.) was blocked off, so we continued on to Dallas Street.  There were cars parked all over the place and people walking everywhere.  Something was definitely going on, but we could not figure it out.  We turned right onto Dallas St. and knew we only had a block to go to get to Huron Ave.  Unfortunately, we could not turn right onto Huron Ave.  It too, was blocked off and for the first time, we could see why – there were a ton of tents set up on Huron Avenue with hundreds of people walking in and out of them.  There was an Art Fair going on!!!

Called the Lexington Fine Arts Street Fair, this event has taken place every first weekend of August since 1982.  It is one of the most respected art fairs in the state, and features as many as 200 artists from around the U.S. and Canada.  Exhibitors include painters, print makers, ceramists, jewelers, photographers, sculptors, leather, wood, glass, and fiber artists.  They kick the event off each year on the Friday eve of the art fair with Music in the Park.  The art fair itself is open Saturday and Sunday, starting at 10:00 am.  There is food, music, art, and fun for everyone.  This year’s fair will be August 1^st through the 2^nd.

It was another one of those pleasant unexpected surprises - unfortunately we did not have the time to stay and check it out.  What I had to figure out was how to get back on course.  Since I was not able to turn right onto Huron Ave, I turned left and ended up in the marina, with no where else to go.  I had to retrace my route all the way back to Simon and Main Streets and made the left turn onto the busy street that I tried to avoid 15 minutes earlier. 

As we headed south on Main Street, we got to pass through the downtown section of Lexington.  Again, these towns and villages along the coast of Lake Huron are quaint and homey, and Lexington was no exception.  With a population of 1,106 (2017), Lexington’s history is intertwined with that of Lexington Township.  The Township was organized in 1837, making it the oldest township in Sanilac County (which at the time also included Huron and Tuscola counties).  That same year, the John Smith family traveled from Canada and was the first to settle in Lexington (which was actually called Greenbush at the time). They built a log house on the shore of Lake Huron. 

The village was renamed Lexington in 1845, presumably named after Lexington, Massachusetts.  An act of legislature on December 3, 1848, authorized the organization of Sanilac County as a separate county with Lexington as the county seat.  Lexington was incorporated into a village in 1855, and is still a village to this day.  The village flourished as the economic center of Sanilac County through the mid-1800’s because of the lumber, farming, and fishing industries.  Lexington became a popular resort town during this period.  The Cadillac House was built in 1859 and became a popular hotel for guests visiting the region.  The Cadillac House still stands today and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2018.  It purportedly is haunted, so it is a popular place for ghost hunters and other paranormal enthusiasts.

Lexington remained the county seat and a major lake port until the county seat was moved to Sandusky in 1880.  The great fires of 1871 and 1881 spared Lexington, although it did end the lumbering era for the region.  By the early years of the twentieth century, many of the village’s major industries had closed, including the local brewery, foundry, and organ factory. The woolen mill burned in 1900 and its operations moved to Port Huron. Another major blow came with the historic storm of 1913 which took out all the major docks in Lexington.  Much of the shipping for the Thumb region that had previously centered on Lexington was moved down to Port Huron. At this point, the nearby city of Croswell became the economic center for the township and Lexington lost much of its allure as the economic and social epicenter of Sanilac County.

Today, tourism and farming are the main industries in Lexington.  There is a wonderful harbor (built in 1965) for boaters and fishermen, nice beaches and lighthouses short drives away, and many historic buildings to visit in the area.  One of these historic buildings just happened to be the next stop on our quest.  From the Lexington Brewing Company and Wine House, we drove 3 ½ blocks to the northwest corner of Hubbard Street and Main Street.  At that corner is the Trinity Church.

In 1869, the first resident Episcopalian missionary, the Rev. Abraham B. Flower, was sent to Lexington and established a congregation known as the Church of the Good Shepherd.  They became a parish in 1871 and the cornerstone for their church was laid in August, 1874.  The church was completed in 1875 and looked much different than it does today.  The original building could seat 200 people, there were no pews (people sat on chairs or benches), and the tall steeple that defines the church today was much shorter and less majestic.  The church was built in the Gothic-style and is known for its elegant wood interior comprised of ash and butternut.  In the early 1900’s, Mary Moore was responsible for the refurbishment of the interior of the church to its current state.  Mary Moore was known for being the wife of Alfred Sleeper, the governor of Michigan from 1917 to 1920 and who was a vestryman and warden at the church until he and Mary moved to Bad Axe.  A parish hall was added in 1949.  In January, 1972, the parish was renamed the Trinity Episcopal Church.

We hung around the church for a fair amount of time, taking several pictures and exploring the grounds.  It was now nearly 3:30 and we were burning light.  It was time to hit our second winery of the day, so we set off for your next destination.

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