U.P. Farm, Veterans Hospital Join National Register Of Historic Places

Twenty-two historic Michigan properties were given special recognition in 2022 through their listing in the National Register of Historic Places, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation has announced. Administered in Michigan by the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), the National Register of Historic Places is the United States federal government’s official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance.

“The historic properties listed in the past year range from big cities to rural towns and landscapes, each embodying a significant story in the history of our communities, our state, and our nation. National Register designation recognizes our shared history, fosters a sense of pride in our communities, and propels economic investment and activity,” said Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer Martha MacFarlane-Faes. “SHPO is proud to partner with so many people and communities across the state in celebrating this diverse group of properties which have been listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2022.”

Across the 300-mile length of the Upper Peninsula, three properties also joined the National Register this year. In Sault Ste. Marie, the former Garfield School was built in 1898 of brownstone commonly found in the U.P. The building is in the early stages of conversion to affordable housing, which will add new density to an existing residential neighborhood east of downtown. Near rural Ewen, the Ernest J. and Edna Humphrey Farm was nominated for its association with Ontonagon County’s lumber industry and for its Craftsman bungalow farmhouse. As a moderately-sized logging operation in the county, the barn was specifically constructed to house logging horses and is a rare example of a resource with a direct connection to the county’s logging camps, which survive only as archaeological sites.

More than 96,000 properties across the country, including nearly 2,000 in Michigan, have been listed in the National Register since the program began in the 1960s. The National Register is a program of the National Park Service and is administered by the states.

Each place listed in the National Register is referred to as a “property,” whether it is a single building, site, or structure or a historic district composed of hundreds of individual buildings. In 2022, sixteen individual properties and six historic districts totaling more than 389 contributing historic resources in Michigan were listed in the National Register.

To be considered for listing in the National Register, a property must generally be at least 50 years old, and must also be significant when evaluated in relationship to major historical events or trends in the history of their community, the state, or the nation. A property must also possess historic integrity – the ability to convey its significance.

The following Michigan properties were listed in the National Register in 2022: