If you’ve ever gone by boat to the South Entry Canal, White City Beach or the Lighthouse area, you’ve probably seen the barn in today’s photos. It belongs to Messner Farm in Chassell and is located just down the canal from the Lighthouse. I communicated with one of the owners and was told that they aren't a "working farm" in the traditional sense, the barn is over 150 years old and isn’t insulated, so they don't keep animals there. It is currently being used as a hobby farm, contains a wood shop and is also being used for storage. The farm and barn are not set up or safe to be open for the public to access the property, but the barn doesn’t mind being photographed from the outside. The best way to photograph it is passing by in a boat on the canal. Many folks were curious and there was quite a bit of misinformation about the barn, floating around and online, so the family decided to give the barn its own page to clear up the false rumors, such as... it was an apartment building, a wedding venue, a restaurant, a bed & breakfast, just to name a few of the rumors. If you’d like to see the inside of the barn, you can find a video at the top of their Facebook page... click on over to their Facebook page here: Messner Farm

Today’s video from CDR Adventures is taking us to explore Michigan’s Remote Huron Islands: Historic Lighthouse on Lake Superior. The lead-in says: “The Huron Islands are a group of eight rocky islands sitting about three miles off the coast of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, on Lake Superior between Skanee and Big Bay. I left from Skanee and after about a 13-mile Sea-Doo ride, I landed on one of the most remote and rugged places in Michigan. From the small landing dock, it’s about a half-mile hike to the historic Huron Island Lighthouse, which has guided ships since 1868. The old fog signal building sits a little over a mile beyond the lighthouse, overlooking the vast expanse of Lake Superior and the tips of the Huron Mountains. Today, the Huron Islands remain wild, windswept, and rarely visited — a hidden piece of Michigan’s maritime history still standing strong and ready to welcome adventure seekers and visitors to it's shores.”

NOTE: For some reason, the third photo of the Messner Farm barn did not show up on the page, so I'm posting it here...

I served in the Coast Guard and was stationed at the old Portage station near McLain in 1970-71. Huron Island was manned by Coasties back in the day and was by far the toughest lighthouse to get a ship near enough to offload the crew and supplies and to refresh the crew about every six weeks. Those were the days!

George L, thank you sir for your service and for
your recollection on some real history of the U.P.

Hi
The guy in the video had a nice calm day. George L., I
can imagine how tough it would be if wind and wave
acted up.

That’s one cool looking
barn. I think that’s where
they held Woodstock.

Thanks JanieT and KathyL. Enlisting in the 'Guard sure beat getting drafted and sent over to 'Nam.
I'll always recall the last logistics run of the season to retrieve the lighthouse crews from all the lights: Manitou, Rock of Ages, Passage Island and Huron in October 1970. Very windy/wavy to the point where the buoy tender Woodrush had to anchor off the southern side of Huron and haul the guys off via a 14-ft skiff. A hardy bunch for sure!

What a beautiful old barn, looks really
great for its age. And George L., you could
definitely relate with that brave soul riding
all the way out to explore the Huron Island
Lighthouse! That adventure would be way
too rough for me, thanks for taking us along!

I have seen that barn from the water, a hundred
years ago, and always thought what a beautiful
building, and so cared for!

What a beautiful tour on the Huron Mountain
Lighthouse!

Indeed George L...thank you for your service, and I
bet you have stories galore!

Thank you for your service, George!

I've seen this barn so many times when we've been
out boating. I love barns anyway, but this barn is
just so cool. Thanks for sharing your pictures.