Thursday, October 3, 2024

Rockin' at Castle Farms in Charlevoix, Michigan




Castles. This word ignites images of kings and knights, even horses and gilded carriages. The stuff of fairy tales, legends, and rich history. I mentioned in an earlier post there are resources claiming forty castles exist in the United States and tens of thousands in Europe. Before 2024, I had only visited Biltmore in North Carolina, USA. This summer I ventured to Michigan with my best friend and experienced Castle Farms in Charlevoix. If you have the opportunity in the future, see the castle and take the tour to learn how this edifice transformed over the years. There were multiple purposes behind the walls and on the grounds from its inception. You might be surprised at the origins.



Why build at this location in 1918? The train from Chicago passed through Charlevoix at the time. This resource provided circulation, supplies, laborers, and a method for income. Albert Loeb, Vice President of Sears, Roebuck, and Co, served as president while the current president was helping distribute items for war effort. Loeb needed to display items for the Sears catalog in photoshoots. In the first of a series of innovative steps, he secured land. Loeb then sought a design. He visited France and various castles. Some say Château de Chambord inspired portions of the architecture. At one time the estate included over 1,600 acres of agricultural land.

The title of this post, Rockin' at Castle Farms has a dual purpose. First, the rocks in these photos emanated from local western Michigan. The locals joked that you could clear a field and next day new rocks appeared. Farmers were elated to get rid of rocks and so contribute to the building of Loeb Farms and Stables.


Truth be told, the only people to live in the castle at any time, even today, were the single workers who built the castle. Their parlor photo below shows the original roof supporting one of the conical capped rooflines, known as witches' hats. None of the other witches' hats survived. 


Later during reconstruction artisans discovered how to use poplar trees after trying other materials. Moving quickly to mill the poplar trees in three days allowed them to bend the boards to form witch’s hat roofs. The at left is a reconstructed roof on a grain silo using the same techniques.



The tiles visible on the floor in the photo above at right originally lined the inside of silos to keep moisture at bay. During renovations, the tiles that fell off over the years were salvaged to create the current floor.

Loeb not only used the castle for catalog photo shoots, but he also created a working dairy farm. Milk, cheese, and ice cream were a few of the offerings. It was possible to pull up to the cheese house in a conveyance and order cheese to go. Our tour guide wondered, the first drive-through perhaps?


During this time, the county needed income. Those in power decided to tax cows to pay for a new school. Realizing the possible loss, Loeb asked instead what type of building they wanted and how much space.
He donated land and hired workers to build the school. It is still standing. Notice the photo at right.


Thirty-six stone masons toiled to fashion the walls of the main and subsidiary buildings. As visitors walk along the walls, the techniques and styles are on display, especially in the hay loft. The changes from mason to mason are apparent. 

Blacksmiths made all metal items, door handles, hinges, and other pieces on property. Many remain.

One of the current venue buildings was once home to twenty-six Belgian horses who lived in the stables. These horses had many jobs on the farm. One purpose was to help carry ice to the icehouse - image at left. They had ice all summer long. A benefit aiding in production of ice cream.

What was the purpose of making copious amounts of ice cream, you might ask? They could not ship the excess. It just so happens that spectators of the Sodbusters baseball team would buy the ice cream while watching games. Yes. You read that correctly. Loeb farms sponsored a baseball team that practiced on site.

During the decade Loeb owned the farm, his entrepreneurial approach encouraged the farm to thrive. After his death, the property sat vacant for forty years. Michigan's weather attacked the buildings.

John VanHaver purchased the land and buildings. He salved what he could of the parcel. VanHaver then hosted art shows and metal forging workshops for income. Many of the chandeliers hanging at Castle Farms are by his hands. Next in line to acquire the land and buildings holds the second reason for the title Rockin' at Castle Farms as you will be able to read in part two, next month.


As a child, Rebecca loved to write. She nurtured this skill as an educator and later as an editor for an online magazine. Rebecca then joined the Cru Ministry - NBS2GO/Neighbor Bible Studies 2GO, at its inception. She serves as the YouVersion Content Creator, with over 125 Plans in 44 languages on the Bible.com app.

Rebecca lives near the mountains with her husband and a rescued dog named Ranger. She is a proud mom of a soldier. If it were up to her, she would be traveling - right now. First up, trips to see their two grown sons. As a member of ACFW and FHLCW, Rebecca learns the craft of fiction while networking with a host of generous writers. 

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2 comments:

  1. Thanks for posting today. This building is beautiful!

    ReplyDelete