Port Austin in Huron County, Michigan — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Charles G. Learned

Photographed By Kathy Garman, June 27, 2020

1. Charles G. Learned Marker

Inscription. A native of New York, contractor Charles G. Learned helped build New York City’s waterworks system and the Erie Canal. Around 1857, Learned and his brother-in-law purchased several thousand acres of pine land in Michigan’s Thumb area. Two years later, Learned and his wife, Maria Raymond, came to Port Austin and bought a house and three acres at this site. Learned’s cutover pine land became a 2,000-acre farm where he prospered as an agriculturalist and dairy farmer. With profits from his lumbering and farming enterprises Learned enlarged and updated this house in the French Second Empire style. In the 1860s Ohio congressman, later president, James A. Garfield, a family friend, was a frequent guest here. From 1931 to 1979 the house served as the Mayes Inn and Tower Hotel. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

Erected 1990 by Bureau of History, Michigan Department of State. (Marker Number L815.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Industry & Commerce. In addition, it is included in the Former U.S. Presidents: #20 James A. Garfield, and the Michigan Historical Commission series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1859.

Location. 44° 2.543′ N, 82°

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59.637′ W. Marker is in Port Austin, Michigan, in Huron County. Marker is on Lake Street (Michigan Route M-25) south of Madison Street, on the left when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 8544 Lake St, Port Austin MI 48467, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 10 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Winsor Snover Bank Building (approx. 0.2 miles away); Port Austin Veterans Memorial (approx. 0.3 miles away); Steamer Howard M. Hannah, Jr. (approx. 0.4 miles away); Saint Edwards Cemetery Veterans Memorial (approx. 6.2 miles away); St. Mary of Czestochowa Roman Catholic Church / Katolicki Kosciół Matki Boskiej Czestochowskiej (approx. 6.3 miles away); Kinde Veterans Memorial (approx. 7 miles away); Huron City (approx. 8.1 miles away); The US Life-Saving Service (approx. 10 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Port Austin.

Also see . . . Michigan SP Learned, Charles G., House. From the National Register of Historic Places—Nomination Form: "Upon first glance, the house seems easily recognized as a French Second Empire-styled home that is unique to its small, rural community and an architectural highlight of the Thumb Region. Upon closer physical inspection, however, the home is seen to have several generations of construction and styling and an evolution that can only be approximately understood."

The Learned House and Historical Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Kathy Garman, June 27, 2020

2. The Learned House and Historical Marker

The house is now known as the Garfield Inn.

(Submitted on September 9, 2021, by Joel Seewald of Madison Heights, Michigan.)

Additional keywords. The Garfield Inn

Photographed By Joel Seewald, August 27, 2021

3. Charles G. Learned Marker

View of the building from the north (Madison Street).

The Garfield Inn Street Sign image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Kathy Garman, June 27, 2020

4. The Garfield Inn Street Sign

The historical marker can be seen in the distance, below the tree between the flag pole and the Garfield Inn sign.

Credits. This page was last revised on September 9, 2021. It was originally submitted on November 14, 2020, by John Garman of Rochester Hills. This page has been viewed 383 times since then and 42 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on November 14, 2020, by John Garman of Rochester Hills. 3. submitted on September 9, 2021, by Joel Seewald of Madison Heights, Michigan. 4. submitted on November 14, 2020, by John Garman of Rochester Hills. • Mark Hilton was the editor who published this page.