Clark Township

Cl1. (north of Nye Rd.; SW� sec.21, T.42N.-R.1W.)

            This barn, which is near Hessel, was built by homesteader William Nye, Sr. in the 1910s.  It was used as a cattle barn until the mid-1930s.  Subsequently, it was used for pigs and hay storage until the late 1950s and then, until the turn of the century, to house riding horses that tourists rented to ride along trails on the adjacent property.  For the last few years, it has fallen to virtually no use or upkeep.
 

Cl3. (east of Meridian St.; NW� sec.31, T.42N.-R.1E.)

            This old barn, locally referred to as the Duncan Barn, was originally owned by James and Mary Tripp.  James is said to have built the barn to house the cows of the Tripp Dairy enterprise.  It is thought to date back to the late 1800s or early 1900s. The attached section of the barn was apparently built to house Tripp's workhorses. The upper part of the original, larger building is a haymow and was so used until at least 1999.  James and Mary's grandson, Earl Duncan, who inherited the barn in the late 1940s, added the metal roof atop the original shakes.  Earl kept draft horses in the barn for several years, and upon his death, his daughter and husband continued to keep horses in it until 1999 when the barn and surrounding property were sold.

            The two older photographs of this barn show it at different times in the past.  The dates when they were taken was not recorded, and each has been cropped. The older black and white photograph shows the barn before the "lean-to," which is shown in the other two views, was added. Both of the photographsin the composite are from Duncan Family albums, courtesy of Carol Duncan.
 

Cl4. (north of Norquist Rd.; SE� sec.18, T.42N.-R.1E.)

            This dirt-floored building was built for Vaner and Elin Norquist, in the late 1800s or early 1900s.  It was used mainly for chickens and pigs but also includes a hayloft, which still has some old hay in it.  The close-up to the right shows the dovetailed corner construction and shingle siding on the lower, six-plus feet of the walls.  A large "main barn" and silo, once north of this structure, have been torn down.
 

Cl5. (north of Swede Rd.; SE� sec.7, T.42N.-R.1E.)

            This barn dates back to the early 1900s.  It was built by Karl Rosing, a Scandinavian who came as a homesteader to Les Cheneaux in 1900.  Rosing, a trained mason, was responsible for the masonry of the foundation and also for that of the stone-sided well house that is east of the large house on this property.  The stones of that structure are split-face fieldstones.  He also is said to have been responsible for the masonry at Viking Boatworks at Cedarville.  

            The lower, front part of the barn -- i.e., the south-facing area, which is on the right in the main photograph -- was originally the Rosing residence. The composite:  Left, the masonry foundation, site of a former window, and place where a name may once have been posted on former residence section;  Center, a section of a whitewashed interior wall of this area --  (Although it is not known if this dates to the original use as part of a residence, one story about such whitewashing that warrants repeating here, even though it may not apply to this "home," is that the woman of the house tamped the dirt floor, whitewashed it, and then allowed no one to enter and walk on it until they removed their boots or shoes.);  Right, a decoration, albeit relatively recently added, that is hung on one of the exterior walls of the main section of the original barn.  Also relatively recently, large sections of the interior of this barn have been restructured.
 

Cl6. (west of Winberg Rd.; SW� sec.9, T.42N.-R.1E.)

            The main barn of this group of farm buildings was built in the early 1900s by Otto Winberg.  Most of the nearby farm buildings were added by Conrad Izzard from the late 1960s through the mid 1990s -- e.g., the "fly shed" on the western end of the main barn was added  in 1978.  The main barn was originally used as a cattle barn, with hay storage in its upper level;  more recently it was used to house steers.  The composite  includes:  Left, one of the a narrow stall-like areas, which were used in lieu of stanchions when the Winbergs milked their cows;  the "tie chain," hung on the facing wall, was put around the cow's neck to keep her in place while being milked.  Center, a section of the upper part of the main barn -- as was common in many hay barns, the vertical boards were so-spaced to assure circulation of air and thus help prevent spontaneous combustion of the hay.  Right, the battens covering the spaces between these boards, which are on one of the nearby buildings, are slabs sawn from relatively small timber, apparently tamarack;  Conrad Izzard, who put them there, told me that at the time he got them they cost him nothing, that the sawmills were at that time almost willing to pay someone to take them away.
 

Cl7. (north of Swede Rd.; SW� sec.9, T.42N.-R.1E.)

            This barn was photographed with a telephoto lens.  A "No Trespassing" sign is at the entrance drive.  The roof, which is visible from the road to the southeast, can be seen to consist of four differently colored, diversely shingled areas. This barn is said to have been built for Andrew Markstrom, an immigrant from the �land Islands -- then Swedish -- in the 1890s.  It was apparently a hay and dairy cattle barn that was used by Markstrom's sons and grandsons until at least the late 1960s, and, since then, has been used for storage.  
 

Cl8. (south of Swede Rd.; NE� sec.15, T.42N.-R.1E.)

            This barn was built in 1911 by Andrew Lofdahl, an immigrant from the �land Islands.  The stone masonry foundation of the barn, which can be seen from the east, extends upward to include what was a lower level milking parlor.  Horses and chickens were also kept in the barn, which was used as a farm barn until the 1950s.  The composite shows:  Left, a close-up of the masonry milk house that is near the northwestern corner of the barn;  Right, the milk house and loft area as seen from the west.
 

Cl9. (east of Rte. 129; SW� sec.18, T.42N.-R.1E.)

            This two-part barn is thought to have been built in the late 1800s or early 1900s,  The south, right side in the photograph, part of the structure appears to have been built first;  it is a log building, much of which was later covered with shingles.  It was used to house dairy and/or beef cattle until the late 1980s.  The adjoined structure to the north, left in the photograph, is sided by vertical sawn boards;  it was used, at least during the last several years, chiefly to store hay.
 

Cl11. (south of 30 Mile Rd.; NE� sec.1, T.42N.-R.1E.)

            For information see Pickford Area Historical Society (2004, p.45, #105). The inset, taken from the northeast, shows side of barn given in Pickford ... (ibid.).
 

Cl2. (south of State St.; SW� sec.25, T.42N.-R.1W.) Extra no. 6:

            This small barn was built in 1993 by Martin Sherlund.  It is on a concrete slab. The patterned roof, the fact that it housed sheep, and its recent use to house 4H cattle led me to include it in this album.