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The most recent plaques:

Gerald R. Ford Boyhood Home / President Gerald R. Ford

Gerald R. Ford, the thirty-eighth president of the U.S., lived here from age eight to seventeen (1921-1930). Of all his boyhood homes, Ford remembered this one most vividly. In his autobiography,...

Gerald R. Ford, the thirty-eighth president of the U.S., lived here from age eight to seventeen (1921-1930). Of all his boyhood homes, Ford remembered this one most vividly. In his autobiography,...

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Michigan National Guard Armory / 119th Field Artillery

Built in 1924, the Lansing Armory is one of five Michigan National Guard Armories designed by state architect Lynn W. Fry. The front block contained military offices; the large hall in the rear...

Built in 1924, the Lansing Armory is one of five Michigan National Guard Armories designed by state architect Lynn W. Fry. The front block contained military offices; the large hall in the rear...

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Big Rock

Natural features have often played a role in the naming of communities. One such settlement was Big Rock. Named after a massive boulder, this hamlet was located at the crossroads of present-day...

Natural features have often played a role in the naming of communities. One such settlement was Big Rock. Named after a massive boulder, this hamlet was located at the crossroads of present-day...

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Israelite House of David / Mary's City of David

Based on the teachings of the Christian Israelite tradition begun by Joanna Southcott in England in 1792, Benjamin and Mary Purnell founded the House of David communal religious community in...

Based on the teachings of the Christian Israelite tradition begun by Joanna Southcott in England in 1792, Benjamin and Mary Purnell founded the House of David communal religious community in...

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Michigan Becomes a State

On this site in 1836, delegates from all parts of Michigan met in Washtenaw County’s first courthouse to consider a proposal by Congress for settling the boundary dispute between Michigan and...

On this site in 1836, delegates from all parts of Michigan met in Washtenaw County’s first courthouse to consider a proposal by Congress for settling the boundary dispute between Michigan...

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Fort Brady

On July 6, 1822, a battalion of American troops under Colonel Hugh Brady reached the Sault, thereby reconfirming the assertion of American authority over this region made by Lewis Cass in 1820....

On July 6, 1822, a battalion of American troops under Colonel Hugh Brady reached the Sault, thereby reconfirming the assertion of American authority over this region made by Lewis Cass in 1820....

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Bishop Baraga's First Church

Near this site, on May 15, 1832, the Right Reverend Frederic Baraga, then a young Catholic missionary to the Indians, established and blessed his first church. A small building of logs and bark,...

Near this site, on May 15, 1832, the Right Reverend Frederic Baraga, then a young Catholic missionary to the Indians, established and blessed his first church. A small building of logs and bark,...

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Michelson Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church

In 1882, residents of Grayling built the town’s first church for the Methodist Episcopal congregation that had organized in 1879. In 1918, local lumberman Nels Michelson donated funds to erect a...

In 1882, residents of Grayling built the town’s first church for the Methodist Episcopal congregation that had organized in 1879. In 1918, local lumberman Nels Michelson donated funds to erect a...

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St. Clair River

Linking the Upper and Lower Great Lakes, this river has become one of the world’s great marine highways. In the 1700s canoes passed by here with furs destined to adorn Europe’s royalty. Ships...

Linking the Upper and Lower Great Lakes, this river has become one of the world’s great marine highways. In the 1700s canoes passed by here with furs destined to adorn Europe’s royalty....

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Michigan's Petroleum Industry

In 1860 State Geologist Alexander Winchell reported that oil and gas deposits lay under Michigan’s surface. First commercial production was at Port Huron where twenty-two wells were drilled,...

In 1860 State Geologist Alexander Winchell reported that oil and gas deposits lay under Michigan’s surface. First commercial production was at Port Huron where twenty-two wells were drilled,...

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Wallaceville School

Constructed in 1824 as a church, the original log building on this site was the first school in Bucklin (later Dearborn) Township. In 1829 the building became a public school. When John B. Wallace...

Constructed in 1824 as a church, the original log building on this site was the first school in Bucklin (later Dearborn) Township. In 1829 the building became a public school. When John B. Wallace...

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Wawashkamo

In 1898 Chicago cottagers founded the Wawashkamo Golf Club. By 1900 the club had been incorporated and the clubhouse had been built on the site of the 1814 Battle of Mackinac Island. Wawashkamo is...

In 1898 Chicago cottagers founded the Wawashkamo Golf Club. By 1900 the club had been incorporated and the clubhouse had been built on the site of the 1814 Battle of Mackinac Island. Wawashkamo...

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The Polar Bears / The Polar Bears

In the summer of 1918, President Woodrow Wilson, at the urging of Britain and France, sent an infantry regiment to north Russia to fight the Bolsheviks in hopes of persuading Russia to rejoin the...

In the summer of 1918, President Woodrow Wilson, at the urging of Britain and France, sent an infantry regiment to north Russia to fight the Bolsheviks in hopes of persuading Russia to rejoin the...

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Market Street

During the peak of the fur trade this street bustled with activity. Each July and August Indians, traders, and trappers by the thousands came here with furs from throughout the Northwest. In 1817...

During the peak of the fur trade this street bustled with activity. Each July and August Indians, traders, and trappers by the thousands came here with furs from throughout the Northwest. In 1817...

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West Highland Cemetery / West Highland Cemetery

The need for a burying ground arose soon after Highland’s first settlers arrived in the 1830s. They “laid out” an acre for cemetery use in 1835-36. The Highland Baptist Church bought the land in...

The need for a burying ground arose soon after Highland’s first settlers arrived in the 1830s. They “laid out” an acre for cemetery use in 1835-36. The Highland Baptist Church bought the land in...

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St. Ignace Mission

In 1671 the mission of St. Ignace was established so that the Christian message could be brought to several thousand Indians living on this shore. The founder was Father Jacques Marquette, the...

In 1671 the mission of St. Ignace was established so that the Christian message could be brought to several thousand Indians living on this shore. The founder was Father Jacques Marquette, the...

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Michigan Grayling/Michigan Grayling

Although fishermen had been catching this fish in such rivers as the Manistee, Pere Marquette, and Au Sable for some years, its classification as true grayling came only in 1864. The thrill of...

Although fishermen had been catching this fish in such rivers as the Manistee, Pere Marquette, and Au Sable for some years, its classification as true grayling came only in 1864. The thrill...

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Indian Lake Cemetery

Indian Lake Cemetery has been in use since the 1840s and contains the remains of many of the earliest settlers of Silver Creek Township. Many of the community's first funerals were held in a log...

Indian Lake Cemetery has been in use since the 1840s and contains the remains of many of the earliest settlers of Silver Creek Township. Many of the community's first funerals were held in a log...

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David Simmons House

A native of Ontario County, New York, David Simmons moved to this area around 1827. Here he farmed, eventually acquiring 156 acres of land. He built this Greek Revival house around 1843. It...

A native of Ontario County, New York, David Simmons moved to this area around 1827. Here he farmed, eventually acquiring 156 acres of land. He built this Greek Revival house around 1843....

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Suomi College / Old Main

In the 1880s large numbers of Finns immigrated to Hancock to labor in the copper and lumber industries. One immigrant, mission pastor J. K. Nikander of the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church of...

In the 1880s large numbers of Finns immigrated to Hancock to labor in the copper and lumber industries. One immigrant, mission pastor J. K. Nikander of the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church of...

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