Old, dusty metal farming tools and equipment leaning against a wooden wall inside a barn.

Machine Shed

Inside a work building like this, a farmer would store his large farm equipment like plows, wagons, manure spreaders, and toward the end of our era, early tractors.

A group of people, including children, standing near a rustic wooden barn in a grassy field. The barn has open doors and gardening tools hanging on the side. Trees are visible in the background under a partly cloudy sky.
Mounted tools on a wooden shed wall, including a shovel, pitchfork, saw, and other farming or gardening tools.
Two men working on renovating a small, weathered wooden shed outdoors. One man is holding a paintbrush, and the other is smiling while holding a tool, with a wheelbarrow and building supplies nearby.
A black-and-white photograph of a sheep farm with a flock of sheep in the foreground and a barn in the background.

Grebe Tool Shanty

The Stimpson family built this shed for use on their farm just south of town. The tar paper exterior was durable and inexpensive, so was used on many early 1900s buildings from work sheds to homes.

This shed is unique because it is constructed of 3-foot by 8-foot panels bolted together. By removing the bolts the building could be disassembled and moved. The owner constructed many homes and buildings in Mackinaw City and he moved this for his tool crib.

In moving the building to this site in May of 2006 several artifacts were discovered under the floor. These include plow points, a pump handle, a scythe blade, old wrenches, and the horseshoe that hangs over the door.