Burt Township in Grand Marais in Alger County, Michigan — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Pickle Barrel House
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The Teenie Weenies
Photographed by J. J. Prats, August 3, 2024
1. Pickle Barrel House side of marker
Pickle Barrel House. The Pioneer Cooperage Company of Chicago designed this small vacation cottage, which stood on the shores of nearby Sable Lake from 1926 until about 1937. It was built for William Donahey, creator of the Chicago Tribune cartoon story The Teenie Weenies. The house was constructed as a typical barrel would have been, only on a much larger scale. The main barrel contained a living area on the first floor and a bedroom on the second. A pantry connected this barrel to a smaller, single-story one, which housed a kitchen. Donahey spent ten summers at the cottage with his wife, Mary, herself a noted author of children’s books. The structure was then moved to its current site and used as a tourist information center. The Pickle Barrel House is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
The Teenie Weenies. William Donahey’s widely syndicated comic, The Teenie Weenies, debuted in the Chicago Tribune in 1914 and continued until the creator’s death in 1970. The cartoon story featured miniature people who lived in a world of life-sized objects that to them were enormous. The
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Erected 2006 by Michigan Historical Commission – Michigan Historical Center. Registered State Site. (Marker Number 698.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Arts, Letters, Music • Landmarks. In addition, it is included in the Michigan Historical Commission series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1926.
Location. 46° 40.257′ N, 85° 59.073′ W. Marker is in Grand Marais, Michigan, in Alger County. It is in Burt Township. It is at the intersection of Randolph Street and Lake Avenue (Michigan Route 77), on the right when traveling
Photographed by J. J. Prats, August 3, 2024
2. The Teenie Weenies side of marker
Regionally, this marker is on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. It is also in the American Midwest and on Lake Superior’s South Shore Region. Globally, it is in North America, in the Great North Woods, on the Great Lakes, in the Western Hemisphere, in the Western World, and in the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Northwest Territory.
Other nearby markers. At least 7 other markers are within 9 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Grand Marais Greenspace (within shouting distance of this marker); In Honor of Our Country’s Defenders (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Grand Marais (about 300 feet away); Bay Shore Park Anchor (about 400 feet away); Tools of the Trade (approx. 6.1 miles away); Cabin in the Clearing (approx. 6.1 miles away); Final Solution for a Long and Difficult Issue (approx. 8.7 miles away).
Also see . . .
1. Wikipedia entry for The Teenie Weenies.
Photographed by J. J. Prats, August 3, 2024
3. Pickle Barrel House and Marker
The Teenie Weenies is a comic strip created and illustrated by William Donahey ... that first appeared in 1914 in the Chicago Tribune and ran for over 50 years. It consisted of normal-size objects intermingled with tiny protagonists. The comic strip characters were two inches tall and lived under a rose bush. They lived with “real world” size materials made from discarded objects like hats, jars, barrels, kegs, and boxes—all of which were gigantic to them. ...(Submitted on August 11, 2024.)
Donahey’s comic strip characters tended to be named after their most prominent characteristics, examples being the Sailor, the Chinese man, the Cook, the Policeman, the Lady of Fashion, the Dunce, the Old Soldier with a Wooden Leg, etc. Each character had a personality accordingly which was not just based on their clothing. According to John D. Taylor (1946-2009), a founding member of the Kansas City Science Fiction and Fantasy Society, there were 45 members of the Teenie Weenie village.
2. Pickle Barrel House. Excerpt:
The Pickle Barrel House is a two-story cabin built to in the shape of two barrels. The house design is(Submitted on January 8, 2026, by J.T. Lambrou of New Boston, Michigan.)based on the artwork of William Donahey, an author-illustrator who created the Teenie Weenies cartoon characters that were two inches (5.1 cm) tall and lived under a rose bush in a pickle barrel. The house was used as a summer home by Donahey and his wife for ten years. It is currently located in Grand Marais on Michigan's Upper Peninsula near the southern shore of Lake Superior. It is near the intersection of State Highway M-77 and County Highway H-58 in this gateway town to the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.Photographed by J. J. Prats, August 3, 20244. Pickle Barrel House MuseumThe marker is in the distance on the right of the house.
1923 book cover (Public Domain) photographed by mgrhode1 (Flickr) in 2007 (CC BY-SA 2.0) via Wikimedia, March 24, 2007
5. The Teenie Weenies in the Wildwood by William Donahey
Credits. This page was last revised on January 9, 2026. It was originally submitted on August 11, 2024, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. This page has been viewed 522 times since then and 80 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on August 11, 2024, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.
