McCourtie Park | Find concrete-wood works of art and more in Somerset Center

Aiden Lair is the long-ago name of an estate on US-12 in Hillsdale County.

El Trabajo Rustico is the Mexican folk tradition of sculpting concrete to look like wood.

Rathskeller is a German word referring to a basement-level bar or tavern.

W.H.L. McCourtie was a Michigan cement tycoon who, in the 1930s, hired George Cardosa and Ralph Corona, two Mexican “el trabaja rustico” artisans, who spent the next 10 years sculpting 17 bridges over a creek at Aiden Lair, as well as other works scattered around the 42-acre property, including two columns that look like enormous tree trunks and served as chimneys for an underground rathskeller, in which McCourtie hosted famous Great Gatsby-esque parties attended by the likes of Al Capone during his Chicago-to-Detroit travels.  

McCourtie Park is what remains of Aiden Lair, including all 17 bridges, the two enormous trees, and a park unlike anything else you’re likely to stumble across, in Michigan or anywhere else.

Michigan/Indiana/Ohio border | A large rock alongside a country road

In the far southwest corner of Hillsdale County, Cope Road bounces along, potholes scattered across the rolling unpaved surface. There are no billboards announcing “Welcome to Pure Michigan” or “Greetings from the Crossroads of America” or whatever slogan Ohio is using to lure tourists these days.

Outside, the rural Midwest sprawls in every direction. Cope Road is a country road like so many others. Not quite a mile south of W. Territorial Road, just as you approach Michigan’s southernmost point, a large rock on the side of the road tells why it’s unique.

The Tri-State Marker sits unceremoniously in grass on the east side of the road indicating that 130 feet to the south is the point where Michigan, Indiana and Ohio meet. The thigh-high chunk of rock has been resting here since 1977 when it was gifted by the folks at the Hillsdale County Historical Society. No slogans, no fanfare. This might as well be a county line, which somehow seems perfect.

In a world full of souvenir stands and ticket lines, it’s somewhat refreshing that the point where Michigan meets Indiana meets Ohio remains as simple as this: a large rock alongside a country road. With potholes.