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Sleeping Bear Dunes National LakeshoreCarsten Burfiend Farm
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Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
Carsten Burfiend Farm

The Carsten Burfiend farm is on both sides of the Port Oneida Road about 1 mile north of M-22.  The house, garage, and other out-buildings are on the west side of the road on the bluff overlooking Lake Michigan.  The foundation of the barn, silo, and milkhouse as well as the corn crib, machine shed, and old machinery is on the east side of the road.  Notice that the houses face the Lake Michigan bluff and have their backs toward Port Oneida Road.  That is because the original Port Oneida Road ran along the bluff on the other side of the houses.

 
Carsten Burfiend House #1
Kerry Kelly 2005
Carsten Burfiend House #1

This farm was settled by Carsten and Elizabeth Burfiend, Port Oneida's first settlers. They emigrated from Kootenhold, Germany and arrived in New York state, where Mrs. Burfiend remained while her husband continued on to North manitou Island. The family originally lived in a log cabin marked by a lilac clump remaining in a field next to Port Oneida Road. 

Carsten and Elizabeth Burfiend's son, Peter (b. 1861), built their first house in 1893. The house contains hand-hewn timbers; some of which came from the original Burfiend cabin. Peter and Jennie (Goffar) Burfiend's son, Howard (b. 1895), and his wife, Orpha (Fralick), came to the farm in 1926. At one time, Orpha Fralick Burfiend had a land grant from President Franklin Pierce and a deed for the property signed by President Abraham Lincoln.

 
Carsten Burfiend House
Kerry Kelly 2005
Carsten Burfiend Farm with barn foundation, machine shed, and abandoned farm equipment.

In 1930, Howard and Orpha Burfiend hired a Lake Leelanau contractor to build the second house, and moved the farm buildings across Port Oneida Road.  The granary is the only remaining outbuilding predating the move.  The barn and pump house burned in 1982.

 
Carsten Burfiend House #2
Kerry Kelly 2005
Carsten Burfiend House #2
 
 

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Did You Know?
The Great Lakes was the highway of the past. It was the main way that cargo and passengers moved through this area until roads were established. A variety of boats used on the Great Lakes are on display at the Cannery in Glen Haven within Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
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Last Updated: August 21, 2006 at 19:15 EST