Martin Township, A Small Town In Southwest Michigan

Martin Township’s countryside is full of beautiful rolling farmlands and pastures and 100-year-old Dutch-style homes and gambrel barns.

An old Dutch-style gambrel barn in  in Martin Township
An old Dutch-style gambrel barn in Michigan

Martin Township is where my wife is from. It’s a small town in Southwest Michigan near Grand Rapids. Every summer since we’ve started dating and got married we go up there to visit her family. Her dad used to be a potato farmer there and still owns his potato storage barn which he now uses to store tractors and help other farmers fix their equipment.

Martin Township’s countryside is full of beautiful rolling farmlands and pastures. Dutch-style homes and gambrel barns are scattered about, some over 100 years old. Every time I visit I like to drive around the countryside to take photos of the barns and landscapes.

The barns I was most drawn to were the Dutch-style gambrel barns. I really like their symmetrical architecture and the shapes of their roofs and how they flair out at the edges. In Texas, I have never noticed seeing this style of barn before.

An old dutch farm house in Michigan
An old dutch farm house in Michigan
A farmer in rural Michigan
A farmer in rural Michigan

Some of the farmlands have old abandoned and dilapidated barns on them. These barns are all in various states of decay. I would like to take more photos of them but I’m hesitant to trespass on anyone’s property. I was able to capture this one from the road.

A dilapidated barn in rural Michigan
A dilapidated barn in rural Michigan

Nature in Martin, Township

All the open land and small patches of remaining wooded areas make Martin a great place to capture some great nature photos. During the summer there are flowers blooming everywhere and tiny creatures pollinating them.

Dirt road under a canopy of trees in Martin, Michigan in Martin Township
Dirt road under a canopy of trees in Martin, Michigan
A Viceroy butterfly on a wild carrot flower in Martin Township
A Viceroy butterfly on a wild carrot flower in Michigan
Honey bee pollinating a lavender flower
Honey bee pollinating a lavender flower
A Dwarf Alberta Spruce, Picea glauca ‘Conica’ in Martin Township
A Dwarf Alberta Spruce, Picea glauca ‘Conica’
An old bell with overgrown vines on it in Martin Township
An old bell with overgrown vines on it
Coreopsis lanceolata (Lanceleaf Tickseed)
Coreopsis lanceolata (Lanceleaf Tickseed)


8 Comments

  1. Thank you for sharing – I like the Honey bee pollinating a lavender flower, and the old bell with the creeper vines.
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  2. Where is that beautiful tree pathway shot if you don’t mind me asking for what state it’s in or if you have GPS do you have GPS coordinates for it that you can give me just a lovely shot their ❤️

    1. Thank you. The shot was taken in Martin Township in Michigan, the photo was taken on private property and unfortunately I’m no longer in contact with the owner of the property.

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