Hattie Olsen, the story goes, once fell through the attic of the farmhouse where she lived with husband Charles in Port Oneida. She was fine, but her boys laughed when they saw her legs protruding from the ceiling. Life was hard, but there was also humor on the farmstead where the Olsens lived in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Charles, when he grew older, would sometimes fall while plowing the land. The horses knew him and knew every inch of the land, would stop and wait for him to get up.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore will again host their successful barn restoration workshop on June 13-18 at the John Burfiend Barn on Port Oneida Road, four miles north of Glen Arbor on M-22. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the partnership between the Michigan Barn Preservation Network (MBPN) and the National Lakeshore in developing this series of “hands-on” workshops. The park and the MBPN are providing the skilled labor to put on this workshop.
Most of the towns and villages in Leelanau County were built up around the lumber business. And Port Oneida, most of it now part of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, was no exception. It was first settled in 1852 by Carsten Burfiend, a German immigrant, who traveled with his wife Elizabeth to Buffalo, NY, in 1846. Elizabeth stayed in New York while Carsten went on to work as a fisherman on North Manitou Island. North Manitou had recently been settled by wood dealer Nicolas Pickard and his brother Simeon, who had been in the wooding business in New York. The brothers erected several docks at various locations around the island and began a successful wooding station business, supplying cordwood for fuel to passing steamships traveling from the Erie Canal to Chicago.
By F. Josephine Arrowood Sun contributor In these days and in this foodie haven of Northern Michigan, it seems that one can hardly turn around without tripping over another would-be farmer. In sharp contrast to this desire to “live off the land” (as the hippies used to say), the knowledge and experience to live with […]
Think of warmth, sunshine and fun. Plan your August visit to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore for the 14th annual Port Oneida Fair. Mark your calendar for Aug. 7 and 8, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with special events on Friday and Saturday evenings.
Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear, a partner organization of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, offers opportunities to learn about and help preserve the historic properties of Sleeping Bear Dunes area this summer.
The public is invited to attend the official ribbon cutting for the newest section of the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail from Fisher Road, near Glen Arbor, to Port Oneida Road, on June 17 at 11 a.m. at the Olsen Farm in Port Oneida, 3164 W Harbor Highway (M-22).
From staff reports The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore will again host a barn restoration workshop June 18-20 at the John Burfiend Barn located on Port Oneida Road, four miles north of Glen Arbor. This year marks the 19th anniversary of the partnership between the Michigan Barn Preservation Network and the National Lakeshore in developing […]
Leg 3 of the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail, between Glen Arbor and the National Lakeshore’s Port Oneida Rural Historic District, opened in late May 2015. Glen Arbor Sun editor Jacob Wheeler took a ride on the new portion of the trail this week.
Within the next few weeks, the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail will officially open its third leg, which stretches roughly from the Crystal River dam (on County Road 675, 1.5 miles east of Glen Arbor) up to the Port Oneida Rural Historic District. That 3.4-mile stretch will make the popular Heritage Trail nearly 13 miles long.