This house and farm belonged to my great-grandparents, Joseph and Sophia Harper. My grandfather didn't like the farm life so my dad's Uncle Joe ended up with the farm. The fence shows that the house is now a separate property. We visited when I was a kid in the 1960s. at that visit there was a corral at the end of the barn (towards the house) full of cows. In its heyday it was a huge working farm. Don't know how many acres but my dad said it was big. Across the road back then was just a big open field and I think an old foundation from a house. Now there's a small subdivision. The barn is still there. When I was last there a few years ago we got to go inside. It's owned by a building contractor and he was there working. Amazing to see the huge beams (about 12' x 12') and realize it was all built with no power tools. Quite impressive. Happy I was able to find the old "homestead."

This is where I grew up. Joseph Harper emigrated from Cornwall England and settled in the UP. His family were miners but eventually he married and had three children. They bought this farm in 1917.
The farm was 360 acres. Originally there were 5 huge maple trees that lined the road out front but were taken down a few years back when they widened the road in front of the house. I spent many hours swinging from those maple trees in my swing. There was also a smaller house that sat in the back part of the yard and a chicken coop that sat behind the pump house. I helped my dad plant the pine trees that sit behind the house! We always had a large garden that was behind the pine trees. My grandparents raised three children there and my dad raised 2 children there.