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A piece of history

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 I don't know which blog to put this in but it's historical so... I found this framing square in the condo I was working on, and the owner gifted it to me. It had a lot of dirt and some surface rust, and was hard to read but I hit it lightly with some fine sandpaper to get the rust off. It is steel and quite heavy. It's pretty interesting. I know a bit about using this type of square for roofing and stairs, but there are a lot of things on here. It says copyright 1912. The construction is interesting, made in two pieces and put together in what looks like a dovetail joint. I don't often see a framing square with 128ths of an inch.  There's also a scale on it I can't identify. My wife suggested barleycorns, though I'm pretty sure she wasn't serious...   The manufacturer stamped on there, "Southington Hardware" was DBA that name from 1908 until they went out of business in the 1960s.   Here's a blog post about it: Vanished Tool Makers: ...
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Michigan: Macolm County

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 This marker is on the bike path in Stoney Creek Metropark William Austin Burt William Austin Burt (obverse)  
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Ride to a new marker!

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I saw a friend's FB post about a brand new marker nearby. The topic is important to me so I decided to immediately ride over and find it (and coincidentally add it to HMDB.org). As I type this the marker has only been in place for one day. Here is an article about the marker at MLive  Ann Arbor and LGBTQ+ History Ann Arbor and Human Rights  While walking there and back I came across some others I hadn't previously catalogued:   Departing Heroes and the Home Front Courthouse Square: A Center of Civic Life Politics and Processions on Courthouse Square The Growth of City Services Building New Around Old: The Construction of the Present Courthouse Architecture & Business on Courthouse Square Hospitality on Courthouse Square
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Michigan - Roscommon County

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Markers located in Roscommon County, Michigan Roscommon - Pioneer House   Gerrish Prudenville/Roscommon Lumber Co Prudenville/Roscommon Lumber Co  
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Michigan - Houghton County

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I spent 10 years in Houghton county but wasn't really chasing historical markers at the time, though I did read them when I came across them. I still visit at least once a year. The Copper Country    Suomi Synod   Float Copper Float Copper Float Copper Clearing the Way C & H: The Copper Giant The Italian Hall tragedy has been studied and many books about it written over the years. Recently I read "Death's Door" by Steve Lehto. It has a lot of history and more modern research than some of the older texts. Italian Hall Tragedy   Italian Hall St. Paul the Apostle Church St. Paul the Apostle Church George Gipp Memorial George Gipp Memorial While in the area, there are several museums worth visiting. The Houghton County Historical Museum in Lake Linden has an interesting and well organized collection on a large campus, plus train rides including a restored steam engine that runs usually on Saturdays (check the website).   The Copper Country Firefighters History M...
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Michigan - Baraga County

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My visits to Baraga county are generally just passing through on my way to the Keweenaw. I went up in mid July 2025 and decided that having passed by it without stopping dozens of times, I should stop at the Shrine of the Snowshoe Priest, Bishop Baraga. There is a cluster of small markers here in addition to a state marker. A few days later I was in the Houghton County Historical Museum which had some info - this sculpture was made in Lake Linden and was a 2 year project for the artist. L'Anse-Lac Vieux Desert Trail    The Snowshoe Priest Dog Sled Episode   Adrift on Ice Floe A Happy Journey   Brotherhood in a Blizzard  
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