Construction began in 1914 and cost $100,000 which is the equivalent to around $2.6mil today. Upon completion in 1915 it was opened. The building is primarily brick but the entrance is South Marquette Sandstone. Originally the orphanage had intended to only serve white children however among some of their first children included approx 60 native american children. In 1967 the orphanage took in refugees from Cuba. At its peak, the orphanage served 200+ children. They served their last orphan in 1967 and it was officially abandoned in 1982. After being abandoned it was listed as a haunted hotspot and had countless urban legends created surrounding it. The building was purchased in 1998 by a local businessman who had intentions of turning it into an assisted living facility before being listed for sale again. The property was then purchased again with plans of becoming a school of performing arts. In 2016 renovations began to turn the orphanage into affordable housing apartments. The building now has 56 units for rent. Though some are still convinced the building is haunted, only the current residents and the children that lived there know the truth. If you have any more information or other suggestions, leave a comment or send us a message!
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The Bay City Water Works began treating water from the Saginaw Bay in 1922, replacing the original plant that had been built nearby in the 1870s. In about the 1970s this plant was replaced by another new plant. However it was used to pump water to the new treatment plant up until around 2015 when it was finally decommissioned. The plant is currently for sale requiring development for $375,000. The only thing left in the old plant is the pumping equipment used to move the water to it’s replacement. The hope for the land is that it’ll be developed and made into a draw to the region. It’ll take the right person with a vision and deep enough pockets to make it possible. If you have any more information or other suggestions, leave a comment or send us a message! https://youtu.be/7paVzjJRRz4 https://www.bayfuture.com/main/riversedge-featured-property-former-water-works/ https://youtu.be/HpB5yzUwa34 The Bruce Mansion is all that’s left of the town of Burnside which was wiped out by fires in 1881. The home was built in 1876 by John G. Bruce as a Victorian style home which he sold sometime after the fires. In the span of 5 years, from 1921-1926, the home went through 6 owners. The house was bought by John Walker in ‘26, in a few months following the purchase Walker’s wife left him and the house went into foreclosure. While out on a drive, Walker ran over a man killing him. In an effort to avoid time in prison he loaded the man’s body into his vehicle and took him back to the mansion and buried him on the mansion grounds. After burying the man, Walker went into the tower and hung himself. After this incident the stories of the mansion being haunted began to spread. The following owners had their own issues from death, financial problems, to supposed hauntings. Some of these hauntings were reported after one of the owners turned the mansion into a bed and breakfast which failed due to the alleged ghosts. Around Halloween in years past, there have been haunting tours hosted at the house by paranormal investigators. The property is now a private residence and have since stopped hosting tours, respect the owners’ wishes and do not trespass. If you have any more information or other suggestions, leave a comment or send us a message! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17hKq9WQnnU&t=164s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17hKq9WQnnU&t=164s When the train station was built in 1886, the town of Fern was unofficially created. In 1888 the town created a post office. The Fern School House was built in 1906 to serve the lumber town that existed there at that time. It was a two story school, with the second story being used as an attic for storage space, and had two chalkboards, one in the front and one in the back. Two story school houses weren’t very common for this time making it seem as though the town was doing very well and was anticipating growth when it was built. In 1907 the town’s post office closed down and the town began to dissolve due in part to the town’s economy depending a lot on the mill. As the trees became scarce so did jobs and in 1959 the school closed for good. The school house is the only thing left standing of the old town located in Custer, MI. If you have any more information or other suggestions, leave a comment or send us a message!
Founded by Paul Leven, Witmark was operated in West MI from 1969 to 1997, with their headquarters being in Grand Rapids, MI. They were a catalog showroom type store very similar to Sears, which were the most popular style for the time. They sold everything from electronics, sporting goods, furniture, beauty products, housewares, clothes, collectibles, toys, and dominated the market with their jewelry. In the early 1990s their earnings began to decrease due to other big box stores being able to sell the same goods for a lower price such as; Best Buy, Circuit City, Toys “R” Us, and Dick’s Sporting Goods to name a few. Today the building is owned by Regency Equities, a company out of New York. Several people have made offers to buy the building some deem an eyesore but the owner doesn’t seem to want to get rid of it.
If you have any pictures to add, send them into the email or post them on our Facebook page! www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hrwvElmDp4&t=10s The USS Edson is a Forest Sherman class destroyer for the US Navy. This ship is 418ft long from stern to bow and weighed about 2,800 tons and 4,050 tons with a full load. She was built by Bath Iron Works in Maine in 1958 and named after Major General Merrit “Red Mike” Edson USMC. Her home port was long Beach California and she patrolled the straits between Taiwan and communist China. It was featured on television on the Twilight Zone episode “The Thirty Fathom Grave” in 1963. During her lifetime she took damage three separate times, the first was on her fifth deployment in 1967 when she was hit from a North Vietnamese shore battery while providing naval gunfire. The second was on June 17th 1968 when she and other US ships reportedly took friendly-fire form the US Air Force. The third and final was Dec 12th 1974, Edson suffered from a noir fire in the fire room which started from an oil leak ignition, all was secured in the room and no one was harmed. Dec 15th, 1988 she was decommissioned at the time she was the last all-gun destroyer in the US Navy. It then began it’s rounds as a museum ending up in Bay City, MI on August 7th, 2012 as it’s final location. |
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