Grant Water Tower, 135 S. Maple St, Grant, MI

The water tower and railroad depot were built in 1891. The tower is among the last, or the last, of the original wooden water towers in Michigan (data is unclear).

There's an old caboose situated near by and I couldn't find any information on it other than it is owned by the City of Grant.

On the other side of the tracks is the Chittenden Elevator Company.

Train service stopped in 1966 and the railroad depot was turned into a restaurant in 1979, which is still operating today. It was closed on the day of our visit so we'll make a return trip soon.

The water tower was moved from the original location 128 feet east to its current site. Made of cypress and pine, it stands as a testament to days gone by.

St. Ann's Cemetery, Mackinac Island Michigan

 

This cemetery got its start when the old catholic cemetery downtown ran out of room, and the downtown property also became prime real estate. By the 1880s most of the bodies had been moved here. The cemetery consists of two acres and about 1000 burials. It's one of three cemeteries on Mackinac Island, the others being Post Cemetery and Mackinac Island Cemetery.

In 2011, bones were found at the old cemetery site during an excavation. They were assumed to be Native American bones (testing could probably have verified this?) and they were moved with a dump truck load of dirt from that site to St. Ann's. The Spirit Garden burial mound is flanked by a restored Totem Pole and a wooden carved turtle.

There are a lot of familiar Mackinac Island family names here. We stayed at the beautiful Metivier Inn a few times.

The Murrays have been on the island since the 1800s and have their own family plot.

And the Putzs have just planned ahead.

John Francis fought in the Indian Wars.

Here lies a Michigan Cavalry Veteran.

Thomas Bezinaw died in World War II.

Charles and Julia Mahar lost their daughter, Rosetta, in 1885, when she was 1 year, 4 months old.

The oldest known burial in this cemetery is that of Mary Biddle. She fell through the ice and died in 1833 when she was 8 years old.

It's a well-visited grave.

Her inscription reads:

"As the sweet flower that scents the morn but withers in the rising day, thus lovely was this infant's dawn, thus swiftly fled its life away." Two of Mary's sisters rest nearby.

The Biddle house is probably the oldest house on the island, owned by Mary's parents, Edward and Agatha.

A long-time senator from Michigan, Philip Hart has a family plot here. He was a Democratic Senator from 1958-1976.

His wife, Jane Briggs Hart, was a most amazing woman. She earned her pilot's license at age 18 and later became the first licensed female helicopter pilot in Michigan. Jane was a founding member of NOW and an outspoken critic of the Vietnam War (she was arrested in 1969 at an antiwar demonstration at the Pentagon). Jane was an avid sailor and sailed 15 times in the Port Huron to Mackinac boat race as part of an all women crew. She flew in the face of convention at a time when women were expected to stay home and be wives and mothers. And she did it as a mother of eight and wife of a senator.

Jane's most famous bit of history is being one of the Mercury 13 astronauts. Female pilots went through the same testing as the male Mercury astronauts but were denied a chance to fly in space due to the overall sexism of NASA and the outspoken opposition by John Glenn and noted female pilot Jackie Cochran (who was too old to be part of the program). Read all about it here.

Philip Hart served in WWII and was wounded in the D-Day invasion of Normandy. He received the Bronze Star and a Purple Heart.

Their first child, Philip, died at age 3 in a drowning accident and is here with his parents.

There are many more stories to be found in St. Ann's Cemetery but this is the last one for now. We were honored to be invited last September to the family burial ceremony of the ashes of a friend who passed away a few years ago. So we have another place to pay our respects when we return. RIP Bruce 💗

Fort Mackinac Post Cemetery, Mackinac Island Michigan

 Post Cemetery is one of three cemeteries on the island.

There are 108 burials in this cemetery, only 39 of which are known, some of whom are British and American soldiers from the War of 1812. The cemetery was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960 and is one of four cemeteries in the U.S. whose flag remains permanently at half-mast due to the number of unknowns (the others are Punchbowl Cemetery in Hawaii, Arlington National Cemetery, and Gettysburg National Cemetery).

Ignatius Goldhofer was a Civil War veteran to came to the island in 1869 and died in 1872.

A father and son perished when the steamer they were on burned and wrecked off Charlevoix on June 17, 1887.

These are some of the other named graves.

Enclosed within a black wrought iron fence is the grave of John Clitz who died while in command of the Fort in 1836. He has a rather elaborate inscription:

"Distinguished alike for ardent zeal and intelligence in the duties of his profession and manly frankness and sincerity in intercourse with his associates."

Within the fence are also the graves of  Fannie Clitz and Rene Edward.

The sad lamb gravestone shows the deaths of William A. and Frank M., both at two years of age.

Beneath this monument lie the remains of Charlotte O'Brien (18121-1855) and Allen Henry O'Brien (1839-1855).

The cannon from Fort Sumter was not here this year but is usually sitting at the entrance (photo from 2018).

RIP to the knowns and unknowns buried in this small cemetery on Mackinac Island.