The Ghost Town and Abandoned Buildings of Skanee, Michigan
WARNING: Under no circumstances should you enter the abandoned properties seen in this article. By doing so you risk bodily harm and/or prosecution for trespassing on private property.
The ghost town of Skanee lies in Baraga County, about fifty miles northwest of Marquette. The village originated in 1870 when Captain Walfred Been stopped here looking for shelter. The following day, he realized how beautiful the land was, so right then and there he made up his mind to start his own town. He decided upon the name 'Skane' (a second 'e' was added later) after his home in the province of Skane, Sweden. A post office opened in 1876, with Been as first postmaster.
In 1877, a business directory described Skanee as “a settlement of 110 persons on Huron Bay...has a Lutheran church and ships timber and farm produce.”
During the late 1800s the village acquired a boarding house for lumbermen, carpenter, carriage maker, a couple of doctors, dry goods store, general store, grocery, hardware store, hotel, saloon, and a sawmill. By the early 1970s all that was open was the grocery and saloon...now in the 2000s, those are also shut down.
Driving north thru Skanee these days is intriguing, as a few old storefronts still stand as well as the old schoolhouse. It's difficult to tell what these abandoned storefronts used to be; one looks like it may have been the old boarding house, another one looks like part of the old Dahlberg store. Whatever they were, they are spaced out along Town Road and make the drive more enjoyable.
Perfect place to drive-thru on a roadtrip. Take a look at the photo gallery below...
Ghost Town of Skanee, Upper Peninsula
MORE MICHIGAN GHOST TOWNS:
The Ghost Town of Waterville, Michigan
The Semi-Ghost Town of Freda, Michigan
The Ghost Town and Orphanage of Assinins
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