One our family's favorite places to visit was the Fayette Historic State Park near Garden, Michigan on the Garden Peninsula. Fayette was built in 1867 and operated until 1891 as an iron smelting industrial complex producing charcoal pig iron. Fayette produced nearly 230,000 tons of charcoal iron in those 24 years of operation.
These pictures are models of the town in its heyday. The display was complete with audio explaining the different areas of the town. It was a great way to start the tour of Fayette.
Looking from the hill down into town. The company store is the big building without a roof.
The Furnace Complex was IMPRESSIVE!
See little Blase in these pictures??
CUTE kids!!
This was a view of the superintendent's house across the harbor.
The corner of the company store with the furnace complex in the background.
These next couple of pictures are the only pictures from inside the superintendent's house that actually turned out. They had a parlor set up in a wedding reception theme, an office set up as it was when it was moving day, and a kitchen and kitchen maid's bedroom set up also as it was on moving day. The upstairs bedrooms didn't have furniture or displays other than the picture below.
back of the superintendent's house
front of superintendent's house
The doctor's house - it had a parlor and kitchen set up upstairs.
A "scary" tree the boys found.
This was the middle-class housing neighborhood. None of the houses were open for viewing.
Foundations for more middle-class houses.
Looking into the "heart" of town.
the hotel
These two houses (from the middle-class housing neighborhood) were set up as a school and as a house typical of the times.
School at Fayette!
The house was actually quite pretty. Comparable to the superintendent's house in a lot of ways.
Looking back towards the town square and the display houses. The other middle-class houses are just behind me and over a small hill.
This shows the school and hotel on the right side and the music hall/business on the left.
There were a few businesses on display.
This is the stage that is on the floor above the businesses. It was set up for a Halloween party so I didn't get many pictures of it. The Music Hall was just a normal hall with a few cool things on display.
This was behind the stage. The performers used to sign their names on the wall. This one is from Professor Ed Loomis and his traveling dog circus in 1885.
These pictures are from the hotel.
Keep this picture in mind - I have a picture coming up showing the outside (without the outhouse) so you can see where it was coming out of the building.
The company pay office was set up between the store and the hotel.
They are trying to lift a pig - a block of iron. I think it was 125 pounds.
hotel
Here's where the upstairs outhouse came out of the hotel.
You can see the door on the second level.
INGALLS!! Ingalls from Belgium?
I wonder if that is from the same Ingalls as we are.
Fayette Historic State Park FAVORITES:
Darren - the whole thing
Karen - model of the town
Blase - smelting building (furnace complex)
Stephen - machine shop
Cormac - harbor
Rex - school house
Brech - kiln
Gianna - pig weight
Brigid - map puzzle (in school room)
Kiara - map puzzle
