COMING THROUGH WITH RYE An Historic Agricultural Landscape Study of South Manitou Island at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Michigan Brenda Wheeler Williams Arnold R Alanen William H Tishler Midwest Field Area, National Park Service Omaha, Nebraska 1996 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors wish to thank the following persons, whose expert advice and gracious assistance have been instrumental in the completion of this report: National Park Service. Midwest Field Area. Omaha: Mary V. Hughes, Regional Historic Landscape Architect Sherda Williams, Historic Landscape Architect Maria McEnaney, Historic Landscape Architect Dena Sanford, Architectural Historian Donald Stevens, Jr., Historian Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Empire, Michigan: Ivan Miller, Superintendent Duane Pearson, Assistant Superintendent Kimberly S. Mann, Historic Architect Neal Bullington, Chief of Interpretation Bill Herd, Interpreter Chuck Kruch, former Ranger Michigan Historical Center, Michigan Department of State, Lansing: Kathryn Bishop Eckert, State Historic Preservation Officer Le Roy Barnett, Archivist Eric Mac Donald, Environmental Review and Designation Coordinator Cooperative Extension Service, Michigan State University: L. Andrew Norman, Director, Benzie County Extension Service, Beulah, Michigan Leelanau Historical Museum, Leland, Michigan: Laura Quackenbush, Curator South Manitou Memorial Society: Brenda Williams would like to thank all of the members of the society, especially those whom she was able to interview personally: Glenn and Ethel Furst, Ethel Furst Stormer, Fred Burdick, Sylvia B. Kruger, Louise Olginey, and Joseph Orbeck. Michigan State University Archives Michigan State University: Jim Kelly, Professor, Department of Plant and Soil Science Larry Copeland, Professor, Department of Plant and Soil Science University of Wisconsin-Madison: Susan Olsen Haswell, Department of Landscape Architecture and Institute for Environmental Studies Evelyn Howell, Professor, Department of Landscape Architecture Wayne Tlusty, Professor, Department of Landscape Architecture Katie Franks, Department of Landscape Architecture Brenda Wheeler Williams has a Bachelor’s of Landscape Architecture from the University of Kentucky and a Master of Arts in Landscape Architecture from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is currently employed as an Associate Researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Arnold R. Alanen and William H. Tishler are professors in the Department of Landscape Architecture at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The title of this report, “Coming Through With Rye,” appeared as an Agricultural Extension Bulletin prepared by Howard C. Rather, Extension Series No. 44 (East Lansing: Extension Division, Michigan State College of Agriculture and Applied Science, 1925); there also was an update of this bulletin, written in 1941 by Alvin A. Johnson. The cover illustration for this report is based upon an historic photograph of the August and Elizabeth Beck farm on South Manitou Island and was prepared by Brenda Wheeler Williams. FOREWORD During the past several years, the Midwest Regional Office of the National Park Service has been sponsoring a series of projects that focus on the historic agricultural landscapes at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Michigan. South Manitou Island is a part of the Lakeshore. The historic landscapes at South Manitou Island provide an excellent opportunity for presenting examples of the changes that occur at historic sites. On the island there is a rare opportunity for visitors to experience remnants of pre-settlement landscapes (dunes and giant cedars); examples of exploration and settlement (graves and ruins); displays of agricultural development related to homesteading and scientific agriculture (farms and landscape components); and portrayals of the regeneration of logged and farmed landscapes into second growth climax forest. Not only do each of these examples exist for island visitors to see and experience first hand on the island, but they are intertwined--all occur within an area of fewer than 5,500 acres. This is a place where even the most casual visitor is struck by the changes that have taken, and continue to take place, in the landscape. This report endeavors to identify, evaluate, and provide management recommendations for the historic agricultural landscapes at South Manitou Island. The inventory and evaluation were conducted by applying accepted methods as outlined in several national guidelines that address cultural landscapes and rural historic sites. An inventory and analysis which compared existing and previous conditions indicated that many physical reminders of historic use are still evident. These include historic farmsteads with buildings, large expanses of old fields, remnant orchards, farm implements, domestic plants (lilac, rhubarb, asparagus, roses, raspberries, and others), and grave sites. Based on the evaluation a rural historic landscape district was defined. The South Manitou Island Historic Agricultural District is recommended for nomination as a National Register District. The district is significant according to Criterion A because of its association with the transformation of rural agriculture in America from general farming to scientific agriculture spanning a period from 1838 to 1940. Once the island’s historic agricultural sites were determined to be eligible for nomination to the National Register, it became evident that new management directives need to be considered for South Manitou Island. The existing management philosophy, for example, emphasizes natural resource preservation and gives minimal attention to the preservation of South Manitou’s historic agricultural sites. To aid park managers in the development of a resource management plan that integrates both natural and cultural landscape management concerns, a series of management alternatives was developed. Alternative goals for resource management were generated, ranging from those that give greatest emphasis to natural resource preservation to others emphasizing cultural resource preservation. Each goal was evaluated in terms of its effect upon cultural landscapes, as well as its effect upon natural landscapes. Finally, a management approach was recommended for the preservation of the resources associated with the proposed Historic Agricultural District at South Manitou Island. i CONTENTS Acknowledgments inside cover Foreword i List of Figures iv List of Tables vii Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Chapter 2: Cultural Landscapes 7 Definition of Cultural Landscapes Types of Cultural Landscapes Chapter 3: Physiographic and Geographic Context 13 Location Glacial Activity Soil Associations and Topography Vegetation Chapter 4: Agricultural History of South Manitou Island 21 Pre-settlement History Exploration and Settlement Eotechnic Agriculture and the Homestead Era Paleotechnic Agriculture Neotechnic Agriculture Agricultural Decline, Early Tourism and Related Developments The National Park Era Chapter 5: Description and Analysis of Individual Farmsteads 81 Farms with Surviving Buildings Farms with Structural Ruins Farms with Cultural Landscape Remnants Homesteaded Farms with no Extant Features Non-Farm Properties Related to the Agricultural Community Chapter 6: Assessment of Landscape Characteristics 163 Land Use and Activities Patterns of Spatial Organization, Circulation Networks and Boundary Demarcations Response to the Natural Environment Cultural Traditions Vegetation Related to Land Use ii Chapter 7: Evaluation of the Study Area 191 Periods of Significance Areas of Significance Cultural Landscape Sites Proposed National Register Rural Historic Landscape Nomination to the National Register Nomination of a National Historic Landmark Chapter 8: Landscape Management Alternatives for the Study Area 213 Resource Management Concerns Old Field Management Concerns Interpretation of Agricultural History Option A: Restoration Towards P re-settlement Plant Communities Option B: Current Park Policy Option C: Preserve Significant Historic Landscape Features located within the potential NHL District Option D: Preserve the Significant Historic Landscape Features Located within the potential NHL and some Adjacent Fields Option E: Preserve and Rehabilitate the Significant Historic Landscape Features Located within and adjacent to the potential NHL Option F: Preserve, Rehabilitate, and Reconstruct Significant Historic Agricultural Landscapes Located within the potential National Register District Summary and Recommendation Appendix 250 Appendix A: Definitions of Landscape Management Terms Appendix B: Census Tabulations for South Manitou Island Bibliography Sources of Figures iii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. South Manitou Island’s Chicago Road 6 Figure 2. Location of the Study Area in the Upper Midwest 13 Figure 3. Location of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore 14 Figure 4. Major Physical and Cultural Features of South Manitou Island 15 Figure 5. Soil Associations of South Manitou Island 18 Figure 6. Vegetation of South Manitou Island 19 Figure 7. 1847 Survey 29 Figure 8. South Manitou Island Township & Section Locations 32 Figure 9. South Manitou Island Homestead Claims 33 Figure 10. South Manitou Lighthouse 38 Figure 11. The Pig Barn at the George Johann Hutzler Farm 40 Figure 12. Plowing Fields for Crops 41 Figure 13. Lola Hutzler and Haystacks on a South Manitou Farm 42 Figure 14. George Hutzler’s Slaughtered Cattle for Sale to the Visiting Butcher 44 Figure 15. The Coast Guard Station at South Manitou Island