The original, one-room, log schoolhouse on this site opened in 1877 under the direction of Isaac and Lucy Berry. The multi-racial community known as Little River raised the present building in 1905. It was the local school and community center until 1935. The Berry family landscaped the property around the lake, including the beach, calling it Pleasant View. They sold that land to Mecosta County for a park after Lucy Berry´s death.Born into slavery, Isaac Berry (1831 - 1914) escaped from bondage in Missouri to freedom in Canada in 1858. There he married Lucy Millard (1838 - 1928), a white woman he met while enslaved in Missouri. The Berrys moved to Morton Township in 1877 with other black and multi-racial families. They bought cutover land, and Isaac served as the postmaster, blacksmith and school director. Lucy became the Little River Schools first teacher.

Plaque via Michigan History Center

Located where the St. Mary’s River enters Lake Huron from Lake Superior, DeTour Passage separates the Upper Peninsula from Drummond Island. It has long been a choke point for Great Lakes shipping. Anticipating increased traffic as a result of the locks planned at Sault Ste. Marie, the U.S. Lighthouse Service built an onshore light station on Point DeTour in 1848. As vessels grew in size, DeTour Reef, which extends a mile from Point DeTour in twenty feet of water, became a greater shipping hazard. In 1929, the Lighthouse Service decided to replace the onshore light with a station atop the reef. DeTour Reef Light Station is one of only six reef light stations in Michigan.Located four miles southeast of here, the DeTour Reef Light Station was constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1931. The 1861 tower, Fresnel lens and lantern assembly were moved from the Point DeTour Light Station. The new station housed resident keepers, equipment and supplies in three stories. The tower rises more than eighty feet above the water and sits atop a forty-one-foot-high wood crib and concrete pier resting on DeTour Reef. The Coast Guard automated the station in 1974 and excessed it in 1997. The DeTour Reef Light Preservation Society, established in 1998, restored the station in 2004, opened it to visitors in 2005, and took ownership in 2010.

Plaque via Michigan History Center

Hank Greenberg

1B, LF 1930-1946

Greenberg was the first Tiger inducted into the military during World War II, interrupting his outstanding baseball career for four full seasons.  He finished his first tour in 1941, two days before the attack on Pearl Harbor, and immediately re-enlisted.  After his Army discharge, he hit a home run his first game back on July 1, 1945 and helped the Tigers return to the World Series.  When the Tigers battled for the pennant, Greenberg slammed a pennant clinching grand slam homer in the ninth inning.  He hit .304 in the World Series as Detroit won its second world championship.  Greenberg was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1956.  His number 5 was retired in 1983.

BA .313 | G 1,394 | AB 5,193 | R 1,051 | H 1,638 | HR 331 | RBI 1,276

Submitted by

Bryan Arnold

@nanowhiskers   

Organized as a Scandinavian congregation in 1868, Our Saviour’s became a Danish church in 1875 and served the American Evangelical Lutheran Synod until 1962. First used for worship in 1869, the building escaped damage in the Fire of 1871 and was completed with the addition of the tower in 1888. Danish architectural features are present, particularly the weather vane-topped spire, and the Danish language was used in services until [the] mid-twentieth century. Our Saviour’s is now a museum of Danish life in America.

Plaque via Michigan History Center

Submitted by @chrisbateman

During the Civil War more than three thousand men served in Michigan´s First Regiment of Artillery. The twelve batteries saw action in both major theaters. Unlike in infantry regiments, the six-gun artillery batteries served as detached units. Light artillery was mobile. Six-horse limbers pulled an ammunition caissons and guns that delivered devastating fire using solid shot, explosive shell, case or canister. On May 28, 1861, the Coldwater Light Artillery, Michigan´s first unit, mustered in; its last battery formed up in 1864. In late August 1862 the six-gun battery F and a two-gun section of battery G, under Lieutenants Lanphere, Hale, Paddock and Brown, fought against superior Confederate numbers in their first battle, here at Richmond.Batteries F and G of Michigan´s First Light Artillery went into action here on August 29, 1862. They were the only Union artillery on the field of battle. Despite inadequate training and ammunition, they provided accurate fire that helped drive back the Confederates "with admirable effect." Early on August 30 the batteries defended the initial Union battle line. During successive Union withdrawals, the guns served as rallying points or as the rear guard. Seven of eight guns were brought off the field in the last Federal withdrawal. In the final chaotic retreat, lacking infantry support and ammunition, all seven fell into enemy hands. Reported losses were 7 killed, 12 wounded and 65 captured. The two batteries later fought during the Vicksburg and Atlanta campaigns and at the battle of Nashville.

Plaque via Michigan History Center

During the 1920s, investors Wilber Lemon, A.E. Wright, Marion and Ella Auther, and others purchased land at Brookings, a former logging community. Here they platted Woodland Park as a summer resort for African Americans. These investors were also involved in developing the nearby resort Idlewild. Woodland Park, known for its quiet, residential atmosphere, had a clubhouse for property owners and lodging establishments, including the Royal Breeze Hotel. The Authers built the hotel around the original Brookings Lumber Company mill. Federal Civil Rights legislation passed during the 1960s gave African Americans equal access to public accommodations. This access allowed people to vacation where they pleased and lessened the need for resorts like Woodland Park.

Plaque via Michigan History Center