Pickle Barrel House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Pickle Barrel House
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 Location in Michigan
Location in the United States
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| Location | Burt Township, Michigan |
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| Area | 3 acres (1.2 ha) |
| Built | 1926 |
| Architect | Harold S. Cunliff |
| NRHP reference No. | 03001548 |
| Added to NRHP | February 4, 2004 |
The Pickle Barrel House is a super unique two-story cabin. It's built to look exactly like two giant pickle barrels! This fun house design was inspired by the artwork of William Donahey. He was an author and illustrator who created the "Teenie Weenies" cartoon characters. These tiny characters were only 2 inches (5 cm) tall and lived under a rose bush in a pickle barrel.
William Donahey and his wife used this barrel house as their summer home for ten years. Today, you can find it in Grand Marais, Michigan, which is in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It's located near the beautiful southern shore of Lake Superior. The house is close to the intersection of State Highway M-77 and County Highway H-58. Grand Marais is also known as a gateway town to the amazing Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.
The main part of the house is a 16-foot (4.9 m) tall barrel. It has two stories inside. The bottom floor is a living area, and the top floor is a cozy bedroom. A smaller barrel next to it serves as the kitchen. A small pantry connects the two barrels. Outside, there's a nice seating area and a large sign that tells you about the house's history.
Contents
The Barrel House Story
How It Began
William Donahey was a talented author, illustrator, and cartoonist. He created the famous Teenie Weenies cartoon. This comic was very popular and appeared in the Chicago Tribune starting in 1914. It continued until he passed away in 1970. The comic featured tiny people living in a world where everyday objects seemed huge to them.
In the early 1920s, Donahey worked with a company called Reid-Murdock & Company in Chicago. They wanted to use his Teenie Weenie characters to help sell their Monarch Foods. The tiny characters appeared on many Monarch food labels, especially those for kids. You could find them on toffee, peanut butter, popcorn, and all sorts of canned vegetables. Their most famous product was Teenie Weenie Sweet Pickles. These pickles came in a small wooden keg that grocers could refill. One advertisement even showed a tiny pickle keg being used as a house for two Teenie Weenie newlyweds!
Building a Giant Barrel Home
In 1926, Reid-Murdock decided to build a real-life version of that small pickle house from the ad. They wanted to place it near Grand Marais, where the Donaheys loved to spend their summer vacations. The Pioneer Cooperage Company of Chicago, which made the small wooden kegs, was hired to build the Pickle Barrel House. It was a giant version of the tiny oak barrels that held Monarch pickles.
First, the company built the barrel house in their workshop in Chicago. Then, they carefully took it apart and shipped it to Grand Marais. It was put back together outside of town, right on the shore of Sable Lake. Everything went smoothly until they cut out the openings for the door and windows. The barrels immediately started to twist and sag! Workers had to add special braces and bolts above and below each opening to keep the barrel shape strong.
William Donahey's wife, Mary Dickerson Donahey, was also an author. This special cottage was meant to be their summer getaway in the woods by Grand Sable Lake, where they enjoyed fishing. The Donaheys got a lot of attention for their "barrel house on the lake." People had never seen anything like it before! However, after ten years, it became a bit too much. So many curious people and onlookers wanted to see how they lived. Because of all the attention, they decided to move the house from its original spot by the lake. The Donaheys then built a regular log cabin where the barrel house had stood. They continued to spend their summers in Grand Marais for many more years.
The Barrel House Today
In 1936, the Pickle Barrel House was moved from the woods at Grand Sable Lake to downtown Grand Marais. The Donaheys gave it to Mr. Hill, a local businessman and friend. Over the years, the barrel house had many different jobs. It was an ice-cream stand, a helpful information booth, and even a souvenir gift shop. Slowly, the unique barrel house started to fall apart.
In 2003, the Grand Marais Historical Society took over the property. They started a big project to restore the house to its original condition. After a lot of hard work and about $196,000 in expenses, the newly renovated Pickle Barrel House opened to the public on July 3, 2005.
Today, the barrel house shows visitors what life was like for the Donaheys. You can see how they lived in their summer cottage in the woods by the lake in the 1920s and 1930s. The museum inside has old pictures of the Donaheys in their one-of-a-kind pickle barrel cottage. Some of these old photos from the 1920s even show the "curiosity visitors" who came to see their unique home. The museum also has books and other items about William Donahey and his "Teenie Weenies" characters. One room is dedicated to William Donahey and his artwork. In this room, you can see a 7-inch (18 cm) barrel that was used to promote Monarch sweet pickles. The barrel house really brings back the look and feel of when the Donaheys lived there. Tourists who visit this special house can now imagine what everyday life in a barrel would have been like!
Historical Recognition
The Pickle Barrel House has a special Michigan Historical Marker at its location. This unique barrel home has been accepted onto the Michigan Register of Historic Places. It is recognized as a Michigan Historic Home. It is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which means it's important to the history of the entire country.
Images for kids
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The Pickle Barrel House in Grand Marais, Michigan, undergoing repairs in 2004.
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The historical sign for the Pickle Barrel House.
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The Pickle Barrel House in 2008.
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The Pickle Barrel House in 2021.
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Inside the Pickle Barrel House.
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