Mission (Point) Accomplished: A Visit to Grand Traverse County

Like its neighbor Leelanau County, Grand Traverse County is also located in the northwestern section of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. It features the East and West Bays, which are separated by Old Mission Peninsula. The peninsula is, in fact, from where the county name was derived. This area was traveled by French explorers in the late 1830s, who dubbed the walk across the peninsula La Grande Traverse, “a long distance.” At 16 miles in length, the finger-like projection into Grand Traverse Bay may be only half as long as the Leelanau peninsula, but it is just as unique and scenic.

Old Mission Peninsula is another of my favorite Michigan locales and I make it a point to visit the point every time I’m in the area. With wineries, B&Bs, farm markets and restaurants, there is never a shortage of things to see and do. This time around we were on a mission (pun intended!) to check out its antique stores and unearthed some great treasures at Walt & Susan’s Antique Shop. It was here that I discovered the peninsula also is home to a quilt barn trail. I grabbed a brochure and headed out to explore.

Quilts, of course, have been made for centuries. Pioneer woman of the day were very creative recyclers and crafted their coverlets from anything that could be sewn together. They concocted patterns with names like Flying Geese, Bear Paw and Trip Around the World. Quilting bees became a community project where they gathered to piece together their quilts … and gossip, I’ll bet!

The quilts of the Old Mission Peninsula are on barns.  The designs are chosen and funded by the barn owners, and have historical and personal significance. I, of course, wanted to find all 14 of them, but Mark wasn’t quite as enthusiastic. This was not going to be another covered bridge undertaking! In the end, we comprised and located four.

The 1910 Feiger barn (pictured above), where the three-story antique shop is located, displays a tulip pattern. Civil War era quilts were typically crafted with dark red, green and white fabric.

The Chown barn was built in 1870 and is a landmark farm. Its design is a modified Bear Paw pattern, which was taken from a quilt made by the owner’s great-grandmother and her sister-in-law.

The quilt square on the Johnson salt-style barn has a windmill pattern displaying cherries in the middle, which is the farm’s prime crop. This barn was built in 1880.

Finally, the Myer’s barn was built in 1910 and has been restored. Its owner designed the quilt square for their “Bewitched Farm” since her birthday is on Halloween.

I loved finding these barns and learning of their histories. I think a return trip (perhaps when the peninsula is ablaze in autumn?) to see the remaining ten is definitely in order. But for now, there was one additional stop to be made on Old Mission Peninsula. Three guesses as to what we’ll see; first two don’t count!

The last time I was at Old Mission Point was in July 2009. This time I was surprised to see how much the shoreline had receded. It was just as rocky, but had a lot less water. And tons of mud! I lost my shoe several times while trying to photograph the Mission Point Lighthouse. The sacrifices I make for the sake of a good picture!

When the lighthouse was built in 1870, it was an exact replica of the Mama Juda Lighthouse (now destroyed), which was built on the Detroit River in 1866. Though this building is only 1.5 stories tall, it is perched on a sand bank and towers 14 feet above the lake.

The structure was decommissioned in 1933 and opened to the public in 2008. Self-guided tours, including access to the tower, are available for $4; we opted out this time around. The Hessler Log Cabin, a turn-of-the-century log cabin, is also located on the lighthouse grounds.

The lighthouse’s other claim to fame is that it stands at the 45th parallel north, which marks the halfway point between the North Pole and the Equator. Someday I’m going to have to dig out all the photos I have of this sign; there are many!

I learned, however, that this is just one of 29 places in the United States (six of which are in Michigan) where such signs are known to exist. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm … Okay, you’re right. It WOULD be fun to track them all down, but Lord knows I’ve got enough going on these days.

With my second county successfully visited, it’s on to discover other Michigan treasures.