And finally Part Four of our Leelanau Landmarks series. Several County locations or buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places; some are also listed as Michigan State Historic Sites. Some are simply marked by signage, while others are still in use or open for special occasions.

Port Oneida Historic District
There are 22 farms on the 3,400-acre rural historic district, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. First settled in 1852 by Carsten Burfiend, the historic community north of Glen Arbor looks just like it did decades ago.

Kim Mann is a historic architect for the National Park Service. When she arrived, it was with a mandate to demolish the buildings in Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore, including Port Oneida, but she recognized their historical significance. “It looks bad if the National Park demolishes (buildings on) the National Register,” Mann says.

The district is historically significant because it showcases the land use practices, architecture and evolution of agricultural technology of the era when it was active.

Typically the farms were passed down from generation to generation, but the call to help the war efforts in the 1940s saw most young people leave for the factories of Detroit or to join the armed services. Most of them were sold or abandoned, though farming took place on the Dechow Farm until the 70s, owing to its much richer soil, according to Mann.

There are 120 structures on the property, from homes and barns to chicken coops and outhouses. Today the entire landscape is preserved in perpetuity. Each year it hosts the Port Oneida Fair, this year taking place Aug. 11-12. Mann says between 2,500 and 3,500 people visit the fair each year.

Empire School
The building on the southwest corner of M-72 and M-22 was not the first in Empire, but it was the largest. Classes first were held aboard the schooner Empire before a school was built in 1867 on Brotherton Road. A new two-story school was constructed in 1891, but was destroyed by fire in 1899. Construction began on the “new” school the following year, and the first classes in the four-room schoolhouse were held in 1901. A gymnasium was added in 1932.

To accommodate growth in the area, the Tweddle Schoolhouse on M-22 debuted just a few years later. The two were consolidated in 1936, after which the Tweddle Schoolhouse became a private residence.

Several local schools came together in 1958 to form Glen Lake Community Schools, though Empire School still offered elementary classes.

While many ideas for the building have been floated over the years – a community center, shops, lodging, restaurant, fitness center -- and a large yard sale of its contents (most from other places) took place last summer -- today the building still sits dormant.

Lighthouses of Leelanau
The Grand Traverse Lighthouse north of Northport was built in 1852 to serve as a marker for ships heading east or into Grand Traverse Bay. The original tower was demolished in 1858, and work on a new structure began on higher ground, with a new Fifth Order Fresnel lens providing visibility of 12 miles in clear weather. Upgrades took place over the next several years, and it was eventually maintained by Coast Guard crews until 1972. In 1985 a local group organized the Grand Traverse Lighthouse Foundation with the goal of preserving the historic buildings. After two years of renovation, the Lighthouse Foundation reopened the station as a museum in 1987.

The South Manitou Island Lighthouse is the most familiar landmark on the island. The 100-foot tower is visible from the mainland. It was active from 1871 to 1958, providing a wood fueling stop for steamers and the only deep natural harbor between the Manitou Passage and Chicago. The U.S. Coast Guard abandoned the station in 1958. 

The North Manitou Shoal Light Station was built in 1935. It marks the outer end of the shoal projecting southerly from the south end of North Manitou Island. “The Crib” was typically manned by a three-person crew. It was the last offshore light to be staffed, becoming automated in 1980. The structure stood vacant and uncared for until 2016 when it was purchased at auction by North Manitou Light Keepers, formed to preserve the structure.

The South Fox Island Lighthouse dates back to 1867. In 1934 the old tower was deactivated in favor of a skeletal tower erected closer to the point, moved to the island from Georgia. The station was automated in 1958, and use of the light was discontinued in 1969. In 1971 the federal government transferred the land surrounding the light station to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. The South Fox Island Light Station consists of nine buildings spread over about ten acres. Preservation efforts began in 1984, when ten members of the Michigan Youth Corp worked to clean up the grounds. In 2002 the Fox Island Education Association was formed, becoming the Fox Island Lighthouse Association (FILA) in 2005. FILA works to stabilize, restore and preserve structures on the island and to promote scientific, educational, and charitable purposes.

The Robert Manning Memorial Lighthouse guards the northern point of Empire Beach. Manning was a lifelong resident who spent much of his time fishing on Lake Michigan. He had long hoped for a lighthouse on the beach to help guide him and others back to shore, and after his death in 1989, Manning's family and friends raised money to build this diminutive lighthouse. It is one of three memorial lights in Michigan.