Location
Grayling, MI
Original Construction
1920’s
National Register Listed

The Edward E. Hartwick Memorial Building, designed in the late 1920s, is a significant example of rustic architecture that was used in northern lower Michigan by the Department of Conservation (now the DNR). Not only is it a monumental building in size and proportion but is also one of the few remaining examples of the log and fieldstone architecture that was once so popular. The log-style building is reminiscent of the Adirondack camps in New York, with the fieldstone fireplace and chimney dominating the interior spaces. The cathedral ceilings towering over the ground floor and the second-level mezzanine give the building a spacious feel. The rustic feeling of the building continues in the interior with small diameter logs used in the construction of railings along the stairs and mezzanine. The style was once heavily used in the construction of private fishing camps along northern Michigan rivers including the nearby Au Sable.

In the spring of 1999, Greg Jones, AIA, previously at SmithGroup and now at HopkinsBurns was hired to conduct a field survey and prepare schematic design drawings and construction documents for restoration of the building, which had been placed on the National Register of Historic Places a year earlier.

Recommendations for restoration of the log cabin include replacement of the wood shingle roof; restoration and preservation of rotted logs; restoration of interior spaces; removal of non-historic modifications; treatment of insect damage; and planning for barrier-free access and public use.