ONSTED, Mich. – Spite is a heck of a motivator. It has created some horrific situations, some beautiful works of art, some terrible works of art and some mediocre works of art.
What’s the weirdest thing you’ve done out of spite? Maybe taken the last donut from the box so someone else couldn’t eat it? Maybe you’ve refused to let someone get over because they won’t use their blinker? Or maybe you became upset with something written online and so you took the identity of the news producer who wrote it in order to create stranger and more unhinged content over time to ruin their reputation? I know I’ve done at least one of those things (Hint: it’s not the donut one, I’m not a monster).
For one small-town Michigan farmer 100 years ago, spite came in the form of an observation tower.
Back in 1924, the Michigan Observation Company wanted to build a tower on a hill in Lenawee County that was owned by two people, Edward Kelly and Thomas Brighton. When approached with the proposal, Kelly turned down the offer, but Brighton accepted. A 50-foot tower was constructed on Brighton’s side of the hill and provided beautiful views of the landscape of southern Michigan.
The Irish Hill Tower opened just before the leaves started to change color, and Kelly saw people come from all over pay five cents to ascend to the top and see the spectacular view. The opening gala brought hundreds of people to the area over two days.
Kelly, who lived on the hill, was not happy with his next-door neighbor being an observation tower used for tourism. So he did what any reasonable and rational person would do in order to make his life easier and less chaotic.
Just kidding, he absolutely made things worse. Within two months of the Irish Hills Observatory, Kelly built his own tower that was nearly identical, but 10 feet taller. In return, the Michigan Observation Company added 14 feet to its tower. Kelly expanded his tower, matching the original tower’s now 64 feet.
Yes, there was a tower war in Michigan.
After both towers hit 64 feet, the two battled with trying to find other ways to win over tourists. Restaurants, a hotel, a petting zoo, and even a golf course were added to the area.
As the automobile became more common, so did visitors. The towers operated as competing entities for about 30 years until they were both purchased by Frank Lamping, who connected the towers on the ground floor with a gift shop. Later renovations in the ‘60s and ‘70s would make the towers match in appearance.
The Irish Hills Towers were shut down in 2000 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007. When municipal officials attempted to have them demolished, calling them an “eyesore,” the community rallied behind the spite steeples. For the last few years, the Irish Hills Historical Society has been working to bring the towers back up to code and to reopen them.
More: Michigan History
