The Two Ghost Towns of Albee & Verne: Saginaw County, Michigan
Michigan’s ghost towns are always fun to research and a kick to read about. But sometimes you’ll come across little areas that were once communities that have very little written about them…such is the case with two little towns in Saginaw County named Albee and Verne. Neither one seem to be listed on maps and very, very little history has seem to be recorded.
Of the two, Albee is the most interesting one to visit. There are two old buildings – one saloon, one general store - that still exist, sitting across the street from each other at the countryside intersection of Bishop and Fergus roads. The town and township were named for William Albee, who settled here in 1855 after arriving from the state of New York. In 1863 the township was organized and from there…it seemed to do very little growth except for a few businesses that came and went. Today the two previously-mentioned buildings and the St. Mary’s Church are the only remaining proof of a once-upon-a-town named Albee.
The town of Verne was created in 1884 as a postal stop and station along the Cincinnati, Saginaw & Mackinaw (Grand Trunk) Railroad not far from Albee approximately at the intersection of Sheridan and Verne roads. The town was named after a Saginaw County coal mine – which ended up closing in 1900. Once the mine closed, so did Verne; the post office shut down in 1901 and the town disappeared. No buildings that define the times are left – just some houses that look like they were built after the fact.
If you visit Albee for some photo ops, you should travel another few miles and hit Verne. Nothing really exciting to photograph there, except for the fact this little no-place out in the country used to be a little town.
Two Michigan Ghost Towns: Albee & Verne, Saginaw County
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