PURE LAKESHORE: Historic Barns

 

We can thank the Anishinaabe for the legend that gave Sleeping Bear Dunes its name.  But it was an act of Congress in 1970 that created Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.  Besides its unique natural features, the Lakeshore also had an extensive rural farm district.  I’ve been photographing the barns the last few weeks and learning their stories.

D.H. Day:  D.H. Day was the entrepreneur who developed Glen Haven.  He also owned the massive farm which had 5,000 fruit trees, 400 pigs, and 200 cows.  Probably the most photographed farm in the area due to the architectural symmetry of the barn and its outbuildings, the D.H. Day farm is actually privately owned and not part of the Lakeshore.  It’s so beautiful, though, I couldn’t resist including it.

I took my favorite picture of the D.H. Day farm in October of 2010 before I’d retired and moved north permanently.  I was perched high at the Dune Overlook on Stop 3 of the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive.

Pelky Barn:  This barn was built in 1875 on M-22 in Benzie County.  Its L-shaped layout, timber frame, and vertical board siding are typical of Northern Michigan Barns.

Tweddle Barn:  This picturesque red barn was used for dairy cattle at the bottom and hay storage above.  The farmhouse is still used for housing staff volunteers and the Artist-in-Residence program.

The next set of barns I photographed were in the Port Oneida Rural Historic District, which contains approximately 3400 acres along Lake Michigan and 150 buildings.

  Dechow Pasture Barn:  This barns sits in the middle of a field to the east of the actual farmstead, which was one of the most productive farms in Port Oneida.  

There’s always a car stopped taking pictures of the solitary Dechow Pasture Barn.  With the treed dunes as a backdrop, it’s an especially pretty scene in the fall.  I made this shot last October.

Olsen Barn:  This is the newest barn in Port Oneida, build in 1918.  It’s a great example of a hillside barn.  The lower level was for livestock and the upper level was for hay storage.

John Burfiend Barn:  This barn is an example of a four-bay, English-style barn.  While the barn had a wooden threshing floor inside for beating stalks of wheat and oats to separate the grain and straw, it also had one of the first machines to automate that process.

Barratt Pig Barn:  This barn was constructed in the late 1940’s of black walnut timbers from the Kelderhouse residence that was located at the original Port Oneida town site.  It also sits at the edge of a large wetland.

Eckerdt Barn:  Located at the corner of Kelderhouse and Basch Roads, this farm grew corn, potatoes and a variety of grains.  It was also the site of many dances enjoyed by community residents.

Lawr Barn:  Alongside M-22, this barn is adjacent to the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail.  For many years, Port Oneida residents cut the ice they needed from frozen lakes near the Lawr place, including Mud Lake.  I love photographing this barn because of its interesting cupola and fieldstone foundation.

Kelderhouse Cemetery:  I sat outside the Kelderhouse Cemetery and read the names on the tombstones.  Many belonged to the people whose  farms I’d been photographing.  I thought about their lives in the late 1800s and early 1900s, both the challenges they faced and the joys.  I also acknowledge the grief and anger felt by the people who had to give up their property in the 1970’s and 1980’s after Congress created the Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore and preserved it for all of us to enjoy.