As a result of efforts by key Omena residents, on June 9, 2004, a group was chartered by the Leelanau Township Board with the responsibility of preparing a study to establish an historic district in Omena. While it is not a part of the Omena Historical Society's (OHS) charter, many OHS members sit on the Study Committee. Work has gone well since the group was established. The following is a copy of their report for interested parties to review. Updates will be posted as the process progresses. The prospects of acquiring Historical designation for Omena are very good and the committee is optimistic their efforts will be successful. The Omena Historical Society takes pride in its support of this important undertaking to preserve Omena's past for current and future generations to appreciate and enjoy.
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Historic District Name: Omena Historic District
City/Village: Omena
Township: Leelanau County: Leelanau
Date Transmitted: 2-24-05 Report Type: Preliminary
Total Number of Resources: Historic: 32 Non-Historic: 6 Percentage: 85%
District is Significant under the Following National Register Criteria:
Criterion A: Significant Events - Reason: Association with Great Lakes maritime activities and a significant period of resort development and activities
Criterion B: Significant Person - Reason: Association with Reverend Peter Dougherty and the establishment of New Mission Church in 1858.
Criterion C: Design/Construction- Reason: District typifies the mix of vernacular architecture in small towns of the region and era.
Contact Name : Marsha Buehler
Address: PO Box 196, Omena MI 49674
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Preliminary Historic District Study Report 2A
PRELIMINARY HISTORIC DISTRICT STUDY COMMITTEE REPORT
OMENA HISTORIC DISTRICT, OMENA, MICHIGAN
CHARGE OF THE HISTORIC DISTRICT STUDY COMMITTEE
The Omena Historic District Study Committee was established by Resolution #5 of 2004, on May 11, 2004, by the Leelanau Township Board. The resolution was declared adopted on June 9, 2004. The Study Committee is charged with studying the possibility of establishing a historic district in Omena according to the procedures and requirements set forth in the Local Historic Districts Act (PA 169 of 1970), and in compliance with the Open Meeting Act (PA 267 of 1976), and Freedom of Information Act (PA 442 of 1976). The initial study committee members serve without term limits, and have the right to select the Committee Chairperson and with Board approval to have members added to the Committee.
STUDY COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Joan Bensley: President, Omena Historical Society; member, Questers International, Leelanau Historical Society, Northport Area Heritage Association, Northwest Lower Michigan Historical Network.
Kathy Bosco: President, Omena Village Preservation Association; member, Questers International, Omena Historical Society, Omena Woods Association; retired teacher.
Marsha Buehler: President, Omena Woods Association; Formation Committee member, Omena Historical Society; member, Leelanau Historical Society, Omena Village Preservation Association; Secretary, Leelanau Township Planning Commission.
Jim Centner: Trustee, Leelanau Historical Society; director and founding president, Omena Village Preservation Association; member of Management Committee, Cherry Basket Neighbors; member, Omena Woods Association; undergraduate and graduate degrees in History; former Assistant Professor of History, United States Military Academy.
Marshall Collins Jr.: teacher and coach, Northport School; advisor, Leelanau Township Foundation Youth Advisory Council.
Mary Frank: Founding Member, Northport Heritage Association; member, Grand Traverse Lighthouse Museum, Leelanau Historical Society, Women’s History project; retired teacher.
Amanda Holmes: member, Omena Historical Society, American Folklore Society; consultant, Historic American Building Survey and Historic American Engineering Record; doctorate, Folklore and Folklife; certificate, Historic Preservation; author, Omena: A Place In Time.
Jeff Lingaur: native of Leelanau County, employed by Leelanau Enterprise; member, Omena Village Preservation Association; owner and resident since 1990 of Putnam/Smith/Lingaur home in the proposed district; married to Sheila Smith, direct descendant of Rinaldo Putnam, who built two of the homes in the proposed district.
John Mitchell: Director, Leelanau Historical Society; author, history books for children; State of Michigan Licensed Builder.
Laura Quackenbush: Leelanau County Historian; Curator, Leelanau Historical Museum; Founder, Women’s History Project.
Stefanie Staley: Executive Director, Grand Traverse Lighthouse Museum; president, Northport Area Heritage Association, Northwest Lower Michigan Historical Network; board member, Michigan Lighthouse Alliance, The Michigan Museums Association.
Mary Stanton: Trustee, Omena Historical Society; member, Omena Sesquicentennial Committee.
Mary Tonneberger: Trustee and Treasurer, Omena Historical Society; co-chair, History Subcommittee of Leelanau County website; undergraduate and graduate degrees in History.
David Viskochil: member, Leelanau County Historical Society, Omena Village Preservation Association, Omena Woods Association, Cherry Basket Neighbors, Omena Community Improvement Fund Group; Trustee, Omena Historical Society; Owner, Tamarack Gallery; degree in Art History, University of Michigan.
Citizens not on the committee but participating in its work: Sheila Lingaur and Tom Buehler. Field Surveys: J. Bensley, M. Buehler, M. Frank, M. Stanton, M. Tonneberger, D. Viskochil, S. Lingaur. Photographs: Jeff Lingaur. Map: Tom Buehler. History of the Proposed District and Statement of Significance: Amanda Holmes. Resource List Descriptions: Stefanie Staley.
All research and work of the committee has been undertaken by volunteers. There has been no funding by other than members of the committee.
INVENTORY
A digital photographic inventory of the proposed district was conducted in July 2004 and February 2005 as part of the Omena Historic District Survey. Copies of the inventory are located at the Leelanau Township Office, the Omena Historical Society Archives, and the State Historic Preservation Office.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DISTRICT
Omena is located in sections 25, 26, 35, and 36 at the southern portion of Leelanau Township, in Leelanau County, Michigan. Omena Bay is a natural deep water harbor, and is part of larger Grand Traverse Bay of Lake Michigan. N West-Bay Shore Drive (M-22) connects the village with Peshawbestown and Suttons Bay to the south and Northport to the north. To the southwest Tatch Road leads to the hillside which overlooks Omena Bay. To the Northeast, N Omena Point Road follows the shoreline and connects the Omena peninsula waterfront community and the Omena Heights farmland with the village.
RESOURCE LIST
N West Bay Shore Drive, southwest to northeast
5000 N West-Bay Shore Drive. Leelanau Township-Omena Fire Hall. One-story, gabled roof with a false wall front and clapboard siding. The false front has four decorative brackets at the top and one large garage door for fire truck. A perpendicular section is attached with a gable roof and clapboard siding. Non-contributing.
Omena Memorial Park. The Park is to the east of the fire hall. Three large stone slab steps with stones ends flank the entrance into the small park area. A memorial stone to service men and women is placed at the top of the steps. Contributing.
5019 N West-Bay Shore Drive. Putnam Filling Station/ Harbor Bar. Two- story gabled roof building with attached two-bay concrete block garage. Garage has a flat roof with two large doors. Contributing building.
5031 N West-Bay Shore Drive. Putnam/Smith/Lingaur Home. Two-story gabled roof building with vinyl siding over clapboard. Porch supports a gabled roof over the entrance to the front door. Porch foundation is stone. Circa 1893. Contributing building. Stick built wooden plank livestock barn. Contributing structure.
5039 N West-Bay Shore Drive. Anderson Store/ Kimmerly Store/Tamarack Gallery. Two-story gabled roof with false front and four decorative brackets at the top of the façade. A porch with a slanted, shingled roof graces the front of the building. Circa 1885. Contributing building. Ice house foundation is cut stone. Contributing site. Well house is wood plank construction. Contributing structure.
5047A N West-Bay Shore Drive. Putnam-Cloud Tower House: Clapboard sided, Greek Revival farmhouse has a two-story front section with a triangular gabled roof facing the road, with large wooden, double-hung, eight-pane windows. The back section is one and one-half- story. Roof is covered by asphalt shingles. Circa 1876. Moved to current location in 2004. Contributing building.
5047 N West-Bay Shore Drive. Anderson House: Two-story multi-gabled roof with enclosed porch. The porch has a slanted roof line towards the front entrance. The wood clapboard exterior has been covered with vinyl siding. Circa 1890-91. Contributing building.
5059 N West-Bay Shore Drive. Omena Post Office: One- story gabled roof with a false front façade. The front façade has a slanted roof covering the entrance to the building. The wooden clapboard building is accessible directly at the sidewalk level. Circa 1890-91. Contributing building.
5055 N West-Bay Shore Drive. Barth Store/Omena Bay Country Store: This two-story gabled building has a combined cement block and stone foundation. The west side and partial back side are constructed with cement block, while the remainder of the building is wood. A portion of the façade has been covered with vinyl. The roof is covered by asphalt shingles. Circa 1891-92. Contributing building. Barth dock site, contributing site. Shed: barn-style vinyl-clad storage shed. Non-contributing structure.
5123 N West-Bay Shore Drive. Barth House: Two-story asbestos sided bungalow building with perpendicular attached section and an enclosed porch on both ends. Both porches have gabled roofs. Circa 1929. Contributing building. The four accessory structures are concrete block with corrugated metal roofs: milk-house, henhouse, small animal barn, root cellar/meat locker. Contributing structures. Concrete block granary, icehouse, barn, outhouse foundations are intact. Contributing sites. (The barn structure was moved about a mile to the northeast and is in use as a residence.)
5066 N West-Bay Shore Drive. Omena Presbyterian Church and Manse: listed on the National Historic Register as Grove Hill New Mission Church – New Mission.
This white clapboard church has an attached shed. Resting on a fieldstone foundation, it is constructed of pine lumber. When the church was first built there were two front doors. Evidently there were no front windows. The bell is original. The Manse is a Sears Roebuck Home. Contributing buildings.
Tatch Road, southeast to northwest
E Tatch Road. Page Home site: Only the parts of the stone foundation of the home built circa 1859 still exist in an open field. Contributing site.
12819 E Tatch Road. Sunset Lodge: listed on the State Register of Historic Places. The main house is a three-story clapboard-sided house with gabled roof. An open porch surrounds the ground floor of the house. Other buildings include two two-story gabled-roof clapboard-sided cottages and a dining hall. Contributing buildings. Circa 1898-1907. Wooden shed and carriage house are also on the property. Contributing structures.
N Omena Point Road, west to east
3015 N Omena Point Road. Bourdo home, shop: This two-story wooden home and detached shop are built on cement block foundations. Each roof is covered by asphalt shingles. Non-contributing buildings. Site has two small sheds behind the home. Non-contributing structures
N Omena Point Road. Leelanau Township Park. Anderson Dock site; contributing site.
BOUNDARY DESCRIPTION
The Proposed Omena Historic District consists of the following parcels. The boundary of the district is shown as the heavy line on the accompanying map entitled “Omena Historic District.”
45-008-126-026-00 (12819 E Tatch Road, Sunset Lodge)
45-008-135-001-10 (E Tatch Road Page/Cloud Home Site)
45-008-135-002-00 (5000 N West-Bay Shore Dr. fire hall and memorial park)
45-008-135-001-30 (vacant parcel- south of fire hall)
45-008-126-035-00 (5031 N West-Bay Shore Dr. Putnam/Smith/Lingaur Home)
45-008-126-037-00 (5019 N West-Bay Shore Dr. Harbor Bar)
45-008-126-031-00 (5039 N West-Bay Shore Dr. Anderson/Kimmerly/Tamarack)
45-008-126-028-00 (5047, 5047A, 5059 N West-Bay Shore Dr. Putnam-Cloud Tower
House, Anderson house, Omena Post Office)
45-008-126-029-00 (vacant parcel -behind store, post office, Anderson House.)
45-008-026-030-00 (5055 N West- Bay Shore Dr. Barth Store/Omena Bay Country
Store)
45-008-126-032-00 (5123 N West-Bay Shore Dr. Barth House)
45-008-126-036-00 (N Omena Point Road Township Park)
45-008-136-014-00 (N Omena Point Road Township Beach, Anderson Dock site)
45-008-136-015-00 (3015 N Omena Point Road Bourdo Home)
45-008-125-016-00 (5066 N West-Bay Shore Dr. Omena Presbyterian Church and
Manse )
BOUNDARY JUSTIFICATION
The boundaries of the proposed Omena Historic District have been drawn to generally include the commercial center of the Omena community, both historically and presently. This center has served the needs of the broader community throughout its various eras. The area includes a resort hotel, Sunset Lodge, still in use as a Bed and Breakfast. Across Tatch Road to the southwest is the site of the Aaron Page House, which served as the first rooming house, railroad hotel, and post office in Omena. Below the Page site at the intersection of Tatch Road and N West-Bay Shore Drive ( A Michigan Heritage Route) is the Memorial Park, and just south is the Leelanau Township Omena Fire Hall. Across from the fire hall on the south side of N West-Bay Shore Drive, is the Harbor Bar, which is the only structure on the waterfront in the village; it has served as a gas station, bar, restaurant and residence. On the north side of the road, from west to east, are a private residence, gallery which has been a residence and general store, farmhouse undergoing restoration for use as a historical museum, residence, post office, and general store with attached residences. The road turns north at the corner beyond the store, and there is a farm residence with outbuildings and foundations on the west side of N West-Bay-Shore Drive. Across that road to the east is the Omena Presbyterian Church, with its small cemetery and, to the south, the manse residence. At the intersection of N West Bay Shore drive and N Omena Point Road, facing Omena Bay, is a residence, built about1980 on the site of a resort annex, and earlier, a 30’s era gas station. Just to the east is the township parking lot for the small public beach on the south side of N Omena Point Road. Visible several yards south in and above the surface of the bay are the pilings of one of two commercial docks used for many years to ship a succession of products from lumber to cherries, as well as for resort transit. The remnants of the second dock, several hundred feet to the west toward the Harbor bar, are visible only on the lake bottom.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE DISTRICT
The Omena Historic District, in Omena, Leelanau County, Michigan, is significant under three criteria of the National Register for Historic Places. First, it is significant under Criterion A for its association with events that are important in understanding the broad patterns of our history. Omena, a rural bayside village, retains a tangible connection with Great Lakes maritime activities, small mercantile establishments, and the heyday of Great Lakes summer resorts.
The district is also significant under Criterion B, for its association with a person important to Michigan history. The Reverend Peter Dougherty, a Presbyterian missionary to the Chippewa,[1] served as the genesis of Euro-American settlement in the Grand Traverse Region.
Finally, the district is significant under Criterion C, for its embodiment of the distinctive characteristics of a type of architecture. The Omena Historic District contains thirty-eight resources built between 1858 and 1935. The proposed district typifies the mix of agricultural, social, commercial and residential vernacular architecture and sites of small towns on the Great Lakes in the late nineteenth and first third of the twentieth century, particularly for northwest lower Michigan. The predominantly two-story structures reveal the modest aspirations of settlers in the old Northwest, who lived in the same communities they served, often living above their stores, or in houses built right next door. Integral to the families’ enterprises were agricultural buildings, some of which remain intact within the district, and others surviving as footprints.
The district’s period of significance is from 1851, when Dougherty moved to Omena (then known as New Mission) from Old Mission to establish a boarding school for Indian children, to the late 1930s, when the growing popularity of the automobile and Americans’ changing use of leisure time gradually diminished Omena’s tenure as a summer resort destination.
The village of Omena served the surrounding farming community, as well as the burgeoning resort population which came to Omena’s seven summer hotels and numerous cottages beginning in the late nineteenth century. Omena’s focus was and is towards the bay, where lumber, produce, supplies and a steady flow of travelers arrived and departed on ships and ferries at the docks, a few pilings of which are still visible in the bay today.
Omena’s distinct line of buildings faces southward towards Omena Bay, as they have for more than a century. Even when transportation changed, with the arrival of the train in 1903 and soon afterward the automobile, the village did not change its orientation at the head of the bay. That Omena retains its early organization and the historic integrity of most of its buildings and landscape features makes it rare in a rapidly changing and developing corner of Michigan.
