Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear seeks to raise $50,000 to move the Goffar Barn in the National Lakeshore out of Narada Lake. The lake, east of the Port Oneida Rural Historic District, is a quiet spot to view wildlife from the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail boardwalk. But the 150-year-old barn is in danger of being lost, as its timber posts sit precariously in water and mud from encroaching water levels due primarily to beaver activity. The preservation project for the 25-year-old nonprofit is to move the barn away from the lake about 80 feet toward the Goffar farmhouse, which was recently restored by the National Park.
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From nearly abandoned and forgotten, the historic Katie Shepard Hotel, formerly known as “The Beeches,” on North Manitou Island is being preserved by Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear (PHSB). The hotel was constructed in 1895 and has been given a chance at a productive new life. The non-profit group, partner of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore since 1998, has been busy at the hotel preservation from 2009–2019, and returning this year to resume its work on this historic hotel. “It is our vision to reopen the hotel that drives our passion,” said PHSB executive director Susan Pocklington.
Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear, now named Historic Sleeping Bear Preservation, was honored by the Michigan Historic Preservation Network on May 18 as a recipient of the “2018 Community Award” for historic preservation.
With the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore’s Port Oneida Fair coming up this weekend, folks might notice that the landmark little white schoolhouse just off the junction of M-22 and Port Oneida Road looks better than it did a few years ago.
Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear (PHSB) was founded in 1998 in an attempt to halt the demolition of several buildings owned by the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Some 15 years later, the organization continues a partnership with the National Park Service in which its volunteers maintain and restore those buildings.
The third annual Port Oneida Run — a 5K Barn to Barn Trail Run/Walk in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore will take place on Saturday, August 4. The natural trail offers an inspiring alternative to paved courses, meandering through beautiful meadows, forests, and the pastoral landscape of farmsteads from the late 1800s in the Port Oneida Rural Historic District with bluff views over Lake Michigan.
As the Annual Port Oneida Fair draws near on August 12-13, showcasing the fine cultural and physical preservation efforts in the picturesque Rural Historic District of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, the dedicated volunteers of Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear (PHSB) are preparing for another annual ritual. On August 19-28, they will launch a third year of restoration and stabilization projects at North Manitou Island’s historic “Cottage Row,” a group of early 20th century dwellings that were built for and occupied by long-ago summer residents and visitors.
Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear (PHSB), a partner of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, is announcing its first “We Love Our Park!” photography contest. This year, the subject is historic and cultural resources in the Park. The deadline for digital submissions is July 16. Participants can enter up to two photos of historic buildings located in the park, for $20, or three photos for $25. PHSB invites people to get out and visit the historic buildings in the Park and experience first-hand the magnitude and value of this heritage.
The Port Oneida Rural Historic District — the picturesque tapestry of late 19th century farms, fields and rolling hills, just east of Glen Arbor on M-22 — will soon have a Cultural Landscape Management Plan, which Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (the local branch of the National Park Service, or NPS) will develop together with an Environmental Assessment.