Last of Its Kind

The Marlette District Library

Date Visited:  August 3, 2019

Stop:  #43

We were heading into the homestretch for our Michigan Wines and Signs odyssey.  As we left the Village of Cash, we had one last destination that included three historical markers.  It was nearing 5:30 as we headed south on Cash Road and headed towards Marlette, Michigan.  Marlette is our symbolic half-way point between our main residence and our place in Caseville, and have driven through it hundreds of times over the years.  It is the location of 3 of our favorite stopping points as well:

• Hilltop Coney Island – this was Kathy’s and my favorite place to stop for dinner on our Friday night drives up to Caseville.  At least it was until the pups came along!!
•  McDonald’s – our favorite place to stop to get a quick dinner to eat on the road when the kids were younger and going with us on our weekend escapes, and
• Moore’s Ice Cream – favorite place to stop for ice cream on our way home from Caseville when the kids were younger.

There were other places we would stop as well – a small family diner on the corner of Ellsworth and Van Dyke (M-53) which is now closed, the Subway at the Clark gas station, the Speedway gas station, and most recently, the Little Caesar’s across the railroad tracks from Moore’s Ice Cream.  But one place we had never stopped before, although we had passed it and seen it standing there hundreds of times before, was the historical marker at the Marlette District Library.

It was a 16-mile drive from the Village of Cash to the Marlette District Library.  As we headed west along Marlette Road, the late afternoon sun made it difficult to see.  The marker itself is located 2 blocks (730 feet) south of Marlette Road on the west side of Van Dyke (or Main Street or M-53 – take your choice).  The same sun that made it a difficult drive also made it very difficult to get good pics of the library seeing as we had to take shots in the direction of the sun.  Of the 23 images we took, 8 were either too dark or too washed out.  I found myself taking pics from odd angles, or from under tree branches or behind shrubs just to be able to counteract the effects of the sunshine.  Of course, that is not too bad of a problem to have.

The library was closed at this time, which was difficult for Sarah, being the book-worm she is.  She has never found a library or a bookstore that she did NOT want to walk into, so I know it was tugging at her heart not to be able to go in.  I can tell you that they are open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9 am to 5 pm, Tuesday and Thursday from 10:00 am to 6 pm, and Saturday from 10 am to 2 pm.  They are closed on Sunday.  I can also tell you that the collection of the library contains 20,142 volumes and it circulates 40,397 items per year. The library serves a population of 5,241 residents.

The historical marker is along M-53 just a few short feet off the road.  The sign explains that the idea for a library in Marlette came about in 1914 by women of the community who belonged to the Marlette Research Group.  The club contacted the Carnegie Corporation for a grant to build the library.  There were rules that had to be followed when applying for the grant, including raising funds for the maintenance of the library, which they did by instituting a quarter-mil tax. The grant was finally approved in 1918, and it wasn’t until 3 years later that construction began on the simple brick building.  According to the sign, the building has a “hipped roof and a portico of classical design.”  The library was the last in the Midwest to receive a Carnegie library grant and the second to the last to do so in the country.  The Marlette District Library is one of fifty-three Michigan libraries funded by the Carnegie Corporation.

As so often has been the case on our quest today, additional historical information about the building has been scarce.  I did find a source that explained a little bit of history behind the cannon that sits in the front of the library (see image below, lower right corner).  It has been a part of Marlette’s history since 1899 when it was brought to Marlette from Fort Monroe in Virginia.  It was obtained by the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.).  Research of the markings and numerals on the cannon indicate that it was cast at the Tredegar Foundry in Charleston, SC, in 1859.  The 'US' on the top of the cannon indicates it was cast on order from the Government, probably for use in the Civil War.

Again, we spent a fair amount of time taking in the sunshine and walking about the grounds, which are beautifully manicured.  Kathy found the plaque commemorating the date of the library and identifying it as a Carnegie building (see image below, upper right).  It was nice to finally stop at a place we have seen so many times before, but it was time to head to our next destination, which was only a couple of blocks away.

#michiganwinesandsigns #michigan #history #michiganhistory #wine #michiganwine #winetasting #historyisbetterwithwine

Time to Cash Out

Village of Cash

Date Visited:  August 3, 2019

Stop:  #42

The next stop on our Michigan Wines and Signs quest, Eastern Thumb Loop, had a promising name.  We were off to visit the Village of Cash, so my mind was conjuring up thoughts of interesting things to see that would be all about money.  Would it be a miniature village made entirely of dollar bills?  Or would it be a village with an infamous bank?  As stupid as this seems, I was NOT thinking that this was a village named Cash.  My brain was locked onto everything other than that.  So, imagine my disappointment when we arrived at our destination and not only was it about a village called Cash, but there were no remnants of this “historic” site to be seen anywhere!!!

As we left Buel Methodist Episcopal Church and headed west on Peck Road, we all were curious about what we would see at our next stop.  Sarah and I got into a little banter about the different possibilities, including an abysmal rendition of “Ring of Fire” by Johnny Cash.  We drove 0.33 miles to Brown Road and made a right, heading north.  We stayed on Brown Road for 5 ¼ miles until it dead-ended into Marlette Road.  We made a left and headed west again for 2.6 miles until we came to a dirt road called Cash Road.  We made a right and were again heading north.  We were basically in the middle of farm country at this point, and we passed a couple of very large farm houses with barns and other large out-buildings.  We crossed over Elk Creek Road and all of a sudden, amongst the vast, flat farmland, we drove into a large grove of trees.  After a few yards, we entered into a small residential area with five homes on the left and 3 more homes on the right.  Halfway through this small neighborhood, the dirt road turned into pavement and we crossed a creek and came to another crossroads.  However, our GPS said we had passed our destination.  So, I turned around and retraced our route back over the creek and there it was, a green Michigan Historical marker tucked off the road a bit, just in front of the tree line on the east side of Cash Road.  This sign was actually obscured a bit by an overhanging tree branch and the shadows cast by the tree made it even harder to see (see the center right picture below).  There was no building there.  In fact, all we could see was a thick forest of trees and undergrowth.  Certainly, the seven homes we just drove past could not be the Village of Cash, could they?  There really wasn’t a place to park by the sign, so we found a gravel one-lane drive that paralleled Elk Creek on the west side of Cash Road and parked there and walked our way back across the street to the sign.

Well, I was disappointed on so many levels.  None of the things I thought this sign could be commemorating were even close to what the sign was actually recognizing.  In fact, I couldn’t even figure out if the eight homes we drove by constituted the Village of Cash, and if they did, that just heightened my disappointment (at least one website I found on the subject implied that these seven homes were part of the original village, but they do not look old enough for that to be true).  In any event, the sign told us that the Village of Cash was founded in 1851 by Edward Cash.  Edward was the first white settler to come to and settle amongst the Native Americans in this region.  In 1868, seven residents of Cash (including Edward) met at Edward’s home and voted to found Watertown Township to govern this area, which was growing rapidly because of the profitable lumber industry.  There isn’t much written history about the Village of Cash until 1877, when the first church was built (Methodist).  A Baptist church opened a year later in 1878.  The fire of 1881 devastated the county, but the Village of Cash survived.  In 1882, David Fowles constructed a shingles mill and a saw mill on Elk Creek.  A third mill was added later that same year by another man wanting to capitalize on the lumber industry.  The Village of Cash was growing rapidly and becoming the commercial center of the region.  In 1883, a general store was opened by William Tomelson, and a post office opened later the same year.  One of the stores in Cash became a popular eating place, often frequented by visitors from long distances.  The Village of Cash was thriving. 

Cash’s fortunes (no pun intended) began to decline in the early 1900’s.  First, the Post Office closed in 1905.  The death blow came with the arrival of the railroad in nearby Watertown in 1912, which shifted the commercial importance away from Cash and towards Watertown.  None of the businesses survived, and today, there is nothing to suggest that the Village of Cash even existed.  So, after all that excitement (NOT!) we decided it was time to CASH OUT and head out for our next destination!

#michiganwinesandsigns #michigan #history #michiganhistory #wine #michiganwine #winetasting #historyisbetterwithwine

The Time Capsule

Buel Methodist Episcopal Church

Date Visited:  August 3, 2019

Stop:  #41

Alright!!  We had just visited Trinity Church in Croswell and it was now 5:00 pm.  After 7 hours of adventure and surprises, we were starting to get a bit road weary, but we knew there were are least 5 more stops we wanted to hit.  We wasted no time getting back on the road and headed to our next destination.  We drove south on Howard Street the 0.85 miles to Peck Road (M-90).  We turned right and headed west for 5.14 miles to our next destination.  At the top of a hill, on the north side of Peck Road, stood our next historical site, the Buel Methodist Episcopal Church.  This is a really beautiful building that almost seemed out of place nestled in between a subdivision on the east side and nothing but farmland everywhere else. 

Just like the previous church we visited, I could not find any information on this building other than what was written on the historical marker.  Seeing as this is the Information Age, it seems unusual that I can search the internet far and wide and not find anything on this building.  The sign told us that this was the first church in Buel Township and was dedicated on December 3, 1882.  It was named the Buel United Methodist Church at the time.  There were seven founding trustees, all listed on the sign.  The Gothic style stained glass windows were added in 1910, and the appearance of the church has remained the same ever since.  The church name was changed to its present name in 1968.

We walked about the grounds and I took a few pics of Sarah hamming it up on the front porch (see one of them below).  Sarah tried the front doors to see if they were open so we could go inside and look at the beautiful stained-glass windows, but alas they were locked.  Kathy found a plaque attached to the post of the historical marker indicating the location of a time capsule that the Sunday School had buried in 2007.  The time capsule is not to be opened until 2032 – twenty-five years after it was buried.  With nothing much else to do, it was time to move on.

But, of course, I can’t move on until I give you all a little history on Buel Township, named after one of the early settlers to the area.  Turns out, Buel is a very popular name in this region.  In fact, I have to defer to a quote from John Robinson, author of a piece called MICHIGAN HISTORY: The Ghost & Shadow Towns of Buel Township.  He wrote “If you visit Sanilac County sometime, you may wanna visit the town of Buel, once called the Buel P.O., found in Buel Township, south of the former community of Buel Centre.  Yes, it can get confusing if you’re looking for just plain ‘Buel.’”

Buel Township was founded in the mid-1800’s and was first settled in 1852 by Ezra Van Camp.  In 1856, a post office went into operation and the surrounding community was simply called Buel P.O.  James McGrath (the stepfather of Ezra’s wife) was the first postmaster, with good ol’ Ezra taking over in 1860.  Ezra had become a substantial landowner in the area by this time, and he was also the Township Supervisor.  Ezra met his demise in 1865 when he was murdered on Peck Road by Rowdy Reed, who confessed to the murder years later.  Up until that time, authorities thought Ezra had died because of an unfortunate wagon accident.  In any event, Ezra’s brother, James Van Camp, succeeded Ezra as postmaster in 1865.  The post office closed in 1871 and reopened 6 years later, this time with Ezra’s son, James, taking on the postmaster duties.  The post office closed for the final time in 1901.

As the township grew, more communities sprung up.  There was Buel Centre, which is literally in the center of Buel Township.  Just north of Buel Centre, the community of Hicks took root and briefly had its own post office from 1893 to 1895.  Another community called Aitken sprung up northwest of Hicks, but all that remains of Aitken today is an old one-room schoolhouse.  Today, Buel Township has a population of 1,203 (as of 2017) with three major communities – Applegate, Croswell, and Peck.  Farming is its major industry.

So now that you know a little bit more about Buel Township, it’s time to move on to our next stop. 

#michiganwinesandsigns #michigan #history #michiganhistory #wine #michiganwine #winetasting #historyisbetterwithwine

Deja-vu

Trinity Church

Date Visited:  August 3, 2019

Stop:  #40

Our Michigan Wines and Signs quest, Eastern Thumb Loop, was progressing just fine, but after nearly an hour and a half at the 3 North Vines Winery, we had little chance left of hitting all the targets on our list for the day.  We had decided we would continue heading west until we got to Marlette, and then head back to Caseville from there.  But there were still six historical markers to see on our way to Marlette.  As we pulled out of the winery, we continued driving west on Peck Road (M-90) towards Croswell, the city that is home to our next historical marker.  We were in search of Trinity Church.  Yes, you read that right and No, this was not deja-vu.  We were actually going to another church called Trinity Church. 

We drove 1.37 miles to Croswell Rd., turned right, and headed north.  We drove a mile to Harrington Road and made a left-hand turn, now heading east again until we got to Howard Street (about a half mile).  At this point, the coordinates on our map instructed us to turn right and head north on Howard St.  Unfortunately, there were nothing but houses where the coordinates said a church should be.  Foiled by incorrect coordinates again.  We turned around and headed south and eventually found what we were looking for – about 800 feet south of Harrington Rd. (or 0.85 miles north of Peck Rd.) on the east side of Howard St.

I have looked all over for any history about this church, but I have not been able to find anything other than what is written on the historical marker.  Even the person who wrote the history of Trinity Church in Lexington stated in her opening paragraph “It is the writer's fond hope that someone who has been associated with the former Croswell parish will undertake the writing of a suitable history.”  She could not find any history either.

The sign explains that the church was built in 1898 and was originally called Christ Church.  It replaced the county’s first Episcopal church building which was erected nearby in 1870.  The new building was known for its unique cobblestone construction, and its interior features wooden arches and a rood screen between the nave and the chancel.  Over time, the Church became the Croswell chapel of the Trinity Episcopal Church and today it is the home of the Croswell Swinging Bridge Community Center.

So, with nothing more about this historical building to write about, I will provide a short history of Croswell instead!  Currently a city of 2,288 (as of 2017), it was first settled in 1845 and was known as Black River, the name of the river on whose banks the settlement first sprung.  Like most settlements in this area, lumber was the main industry, and the first sawmill was built in 1845 by Ephraim Pierce.  The settlement continued to grow, and its first schoolhouse was built in 1851.  Later, the settlement was renamed Davisville, named after Randall E. Davis, the settlement’s first Postmaster (appointed in 1857) and Ephraim Pierce’s partner in the sawmill.  In 1877 the settlement was renamed Croswell, in honor of Governor Charles Croswell (1877-1878). Croswell was incorporated as a village 1881 and it became a city in 1905.

The fire of 1881 destroyed all the natural resources that accounted for Croswell’s lumber industry.  The area stayed relevant by turning to farming.  The community developed their own water plant in 1895 and their own electric plant in 1896. The sugar beet industry was secured with the completion of the sugar plant in 1902.  Today, Pioneer Sugar is the biggest employer in Croswell.

The city is best known for 2 major landmarks and one major event.  The first landmark is the Croswell Theatre, built in 1883 and still in operation today.  It is known for being the oldest theater in Michigan and one of the oldest continuously operating theaters in the United States.  To read about the very interesting history of this building, please click on this link:  https://croswell.org/history.  The second landmark is the "Be Good to Your Mother-In-Law" footbridge, which runs across the Black River. The cable and wood plank suspension bridge is known locally as the "Swinging Bridge" and is the setting of the annual Swinging Bridge Festival held the second weekend of August and features cardboard boat races down the Black River.  The bridge was built in 1905 and it spans 139 feet.  Finally, the most famous event is the Croswell Agricultural Society Fair (est. 1884), one of the oldest fairs in Michigan and held each summer at the Croswell Fairgrounds.

So that wraps up our visit to Croswell and to Trinity Church.  Like the history of the church, our visit was short and sweet.  It was time to visit yet another church, so find out which one in my next blog.

#michiganwinesandsigns #michigan #history #michiganhistory #wine #michiganwine #winetasting #historyisbetterwithwine