Tia Osweiler
The Ford Bungalow: Keweenaw Bay’s Secret Oasis
The southern-plantation-style bungalow beside the Keweenaw Bay in Michigan takes its name from its most famous owner, Henry Ford.
In 1993, Eugene and Kathleen Thompson made their way across Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, gray ribbons of highway moving them through a painted fall landscape of hardwoods blazing like fire, doused intermittently by masses of conifers. Frequent visitors to this wild land, they dreamed of procuring an investment property and retreat from their busy lives in Madison, Wisconsin.
On the southwestern shore of Keweenaw Bay, they inquired about lodging, and a friendly local encouraged them to head to the Bungalow, an inn on the other side of the bay near the ghost town of Pequaming, one of Henry Ford’s once-thriving mill villages.
Intrigued, the couple rounded the bay to Pequaming Road and on to Point Abbeye, a long slender peninsula separating Keweenaw and Huron bays. On their left, dark water opened up beneath an ombre sky streaked with remnants of a vanishing sunset. To their right, a dense forest crowded the winding pavement.
Moments later, the forest fell back as the road chased the concave edge of a sheltered inlet. They could make out the silhouette of a distant water tower. Once they reached it, the narrowed road meandered among gray, one-eyed buildings peeking out from a tangled landscape. Turning off the road, they were surprised by a vast plantation-style residence, more Deep South than rugged Lake Superior shore.
They also found a warm welcome and were so delighted that they returned in winter, when the owner shared that she wanted to sell.
By the time the next fragrant spring crept across Point Abbeye, the Thompsons returned to Pequaming as the new owners of the Bungalow.
Attracted by the lakeside location, the private, retreatlike setting and its affordability, they soon realized the home’s charms were rooted in rich history.
A century earlier, Pequaming flourished beneath the hegemony of the Hebards, an affluent family of industrialists and businessmen. Charles Hebard’s timber speculation led him to buy the future site of Pequaming in 1879. Soon, a lumber mill was constructed and housing sprang up for hundreds of lumberjacks flocking to a good wage and steady work. Almost overnight, a booming village appeared.
In 1914, Charles’ son Daniel chose a site north of town to build a home for his bride. One can imagine that Julia, a high-society Southern belle, felt out of place in this rough northern wilderness and pined for the genteel graces of her home in Georgia.
Hoping to ease her homesickness, Daniel built the Bungalow in the tradition of a southern plantation: large windows, a porch spanning the length of the building and breeze-ensconcing alcoves. But the Hebards would not enjoy their home long. In 1923, the family sold its Pequaming holdings, including the entire village, to the Ford Motor Company.
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Tia Osweiler
The Ford Bungalow: Keweenaw Bay’s Secret Oasis
A large stone fireplace warms the Bungalow’s great room.
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Tia Osweiler
The Ford Bungalow: Keweenaw Bay’s Secret Oasis
French doors open to the bay-facing, Gone-with-the-Wind porch.
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Tia Osweiler
The Ford Bungalow: Keweenaw Bay’s Secret Oasis
A master suite with a private bathroom.
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Tia Osweiler
The Ford Bungalow: Keweenaw Bay’s Secret Oasis
One of the Bungalow’s nine bedrooms.
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Tia Osweiler
The Ford Bungalow: Keweenaw Bay’s Secret Oasis
The ample kitchen blends functionality with charms of a bygone era.
The Bungalow became Henry Ford’s personal residence when he visited, and for two decades, Pequaming operated as a model village, which Henry continuously modernized with the era’s available technologies. The mill was renovated, buildings repaired and schools built.
The Great Depression and World War II greatly impacted Ford’s U.P. ventures. By the end of the war, several Ford mills, including Pequaming, were shuttered.
People moved away in search of work, abandoning the village by 1945. In The History of Pequaming, authors Ruth MacFarlane and Early Doyle describe Ford’s anguish after the exodus: “(He) had visited Pequaming the week before, unaccompanied by company executives, only by his chauffeur. He was told that the Pequaming school, which had been a source of considerable pride and satisfaction to him … was only a shell of walls and floors. (Ford) declined to enter the buildings, saying he preferred to remember it as it was, with the sound of children’s voices.”
In 1952, the Ford Motor Company sold its Pequaming assets to another organization. Over the next several decades, buildings deteriorated from neglect and vandalism. The Bungalow passed through various hands, then sat vacant for years until the Hartmans bought it in the late 1980s. The couple nurtured and restored the building. Once that enormous task was completed, they operated it as a bed-and-breakfast inn until its sale to the Thompsons.
Today, the Bungalow provides an out-of-the-way retreat for those who rent the entire property. Nine bedrooms and six bathrooms accommodate up to 16 people; five of the bedrooms offer sweeping views of Keweenaw Bay just steps away. A property manager ensures guests are greeted with plenty of local lore and information about nearby recreation, food and entertainment.
Preserving the home’s historical integrity is a priority for the Thompsons. The woodwork, hardware and beamed ceilings bear tribute to era craftsmanship, allowing guests to experience the home as the Hebards and Fords once did.
Guests may cater food in from local establishments, but most prepare their own meals in the kitchen, linked to a butler’s pantry that retains its original shelves and built-ins. Here, staff would hover, awaiting summons from the head of the table. In Henry’s case, he’d push a lever under the table to buzz for assistance.
In the dining room, a wall of French doors opens to a covered porch, cool Lake breezes and an expansive bay view. Old photos of the Bungalow, the Fords and a prosperous Pequaming line the walls. It is a room intended for good company, good stories, good food, good wine.
Once upon a time, innovators and notables like Thomas Edison dined here, invited by their good friend, Henry Ford. At other times, family, mill employees and other local residents were the guests of honor.
The Bungalow continues its welcome. “We just love it here: sitting on the porch, watching the sunsets, getting caught up on each other’s lives,” reminisces Nancy Olsen, who visits annually with a group of friends dubbed “The Bungaritas.”
“A lot of tragic things have happened within the group over the years, but we’re there for each other. Making a meal together, sitting in that dining room … we just really enjoy that setting and would just be at a loss if it was no longer available to us.”
Beyond the dining room, another set of French doors leads to the great room’s comfortable seating and enormous stone fireplace. Lamps illuminate side tables, creating ideal reading nooks. This room also accesses the covered porch and, like the majority of rooms, offers Lake views.
Tia Osweiler
The Ford Bungalow: Keweenaw Bay’s Secret Oasis
The Bungalow near L’Anse, Michigan, makes an impactful first impression.
When frosty autumn arrives, the fireplace burns hot, irresistibly luring in chilly toes and noses. Here, wrapped in blankets and cradling steaming mugs of tea, coffee or cocoa, people gather – sometimes reflectively, allowing the tranquility to slow our bullet-speed of passing time. Other times, the rafters echo with laughter and the playfulness of music and dance.
“Lots of music,” a chuckling Connie Lindblom describes her group’s annual visit, a 15-year tradition. Their stay also brings hiking, exploring and interactive games like a scavenger hunt involving local businesses that, by now, anticipate the group’s hilarity-filled return.
They have one other memorable custom: “Each Saturday night, we all have to get up at 3 a.m., go stand by the water, join hands and sing the (Wreck of the) Edmund Fitzgerald.”
During the Ford Era, the Bungalow resonated with the clatter of music, footsteps and dance, especially when village children arrived as Henry and Clara’s honored guests. Henry loved children and taught them all – boys and girls – how to tinker with tools and small machinery. Clara organized dances and socials.
Today, the Bungalow still delights young guests, even without television or internet.
Holly Greer, who has visited several times over the last decade, says being off the grid was good for her grandchildren. They played outdoors, where they “swam at Second Sand Beach, picked blueberries, explored.” Indoors were card games, puzzles, reading. Nobody got bored.
After a day in the cleansing Lake Superior air, staking claim on one of the nine bedrooms is something all guests of the Bungalow anticipate. Each room is large, bright and comfortably outfitted with vintage furniture. Three contain a private bathroom featuring large, claw-foot tubs. Others share bathrooms.
Tia Osweiler
The Ford Bungalow: Keweenaw Bay’s Secret Oasis
Nearby, past glories of the lost village of Pequaming.
Just steps from the Bungalow, Pequaming fades into memory, replaced by new homes. But glimpses of yesteryear remain; the old water tower, a tall, proud sentinel, still bears the name “Ford.” A sun-dappled cemetery, carved into a niche of mature hardwood and young saplings, whispers stories from the past.
People do still come. Each summer, the former mill area shelters a fleet of recreational boats. Fishermen expertly weather the rougher bearings of the bay while the smooth, sheltered waters of the inlet – First Sand Beach – are ideal for kayaking, canoeing or swimming. Farther north, Second Sand Beach is favored for camping, swimming and recreation.
History also lures folks. Holly recalls a summer visit interrupted by the loud hum of machinery at the end of the long driveway. A fleet of Model Ts materialized, driven by Ford enthusiasts hoping to glimpse the automotive king’s little-known summer retreat. Seeing Holly and family, they turned to leave, but the Greers welcomed them back. “It was fun, having them,” Holly recalls. The complete strangers found kinship discussing the home and Ford’s legacy.
Connie Lindblom remembers when a Ford Motor Company historian arrived. During lunch, he regaled them with tales about Henry and the company.
At other times, members of the Ford family have come to pay tribute to the patriarchal regard that Henry had for his model village. And elderly men and women, who once populated Henry’s school, come to tryst with memories of an idyllic childhood.
They all come to remember … or to glimpse an unforgettable sunset over the striated blues of Keweenaw Bay, a constant companion to all that begins and ends on this alluring land.
Nobody can stop talking about that – the guests, the locals and the Thompsons. Even after 20 years, that view hasn’t lost its hold over Kathleen Thompson. “You walk down the hall, and look out by the front door; you can see that beautiful sunset and how it just lights up the whole room.”
As one century closes on the Bungalow, another begins for those eager to sit on Julia Hebard’s covered porch to watch the fiery phenomenon. To admire the flowers in Clara Ford’s peony garden. To listen to the Thompsons’ stories as the inn’s keepers. And so it continues.
The Henry Ford Bungalow, open year-round, does not currently have its own website. Make contact with the general manager, Sarah Bishop, at 906-524-7595.
Minneapolis writer Tia Osweiler spent her childhood roaming the woods in the U.P.