Thumb of Michigan- May 29

Yesterday,Friday, we toured the Thumb of Michigan. Started our day at the Octagonal Farm and Agricultural Museum located near Gagetown Michigan. Mr.Purdy, a banker in the 1920s, built this rather ostentatious barn with the idea that one big building could serve many purposes and then other small sheds (as buildings for farm machinery and tools) would not be needed. To the tip of its weather vane it is 70 feet tall. Mr.Purdy then built an extravagant twelve room house with seven bedrooms, best described as a craftsman type bungalow. He also built a powerhouse for a generator to provide electricity for the house as there was no electrical company in Gagetown at the time. I would also like to add one more interesting note about Mr.Purdy; he and some other Michigan bankers are recognized as the originators of the F.D.I.C. concept. We spent way more time than we had planned for that stop. We then headed for the coastline of Port Huron. Toured the Pointe Aux Barques lighthouse and walked a long pier to get a glimpse of the Port Austin Reef Lighthouse(only accessible by boat). Then it was on to Grindstone city. In the 1930s it was discovered that the area had the type of rock needed for grindstones. A quarry was started and this city became the grindstone capital of the world. Many grindstones dot the landscape of the area, but there are very few originals still around. The pictures posted here are of the farm and Pointe Aux Barques Lighthouse.