rockingk@michiana.org

Michigan

General

Main Street: A Portrait of Small-Town Michigan. By Mann Crisostomo. Detroit Free Press and the Historical Society of Michigan. 1986. 205 pages. Hardcover.

The purpose of this book was to celebrate small-town and rural life in Michigan 150 years after President Andrew Jackson signed the bill, on January 26, 1837, making Michigan the Union's 26th state. Crisostomo's photographic impressions document the happy and a few of the sadder moments of small-town Michigan life: people at work and at play, scenes of festivity and of serenity. Michigan's small towns remain as places where people know and usually care about their neighbors, where there are fields or woods between the backyard and the horizon, and where sunsets get proper audience.

Price: $20.00

Eaton Rapids

Island City. Pictorial History, 1835 - 1980. Eaton Rapids, Michigan. Eaton Rapids, Michigan: No publisher , 1980?. 123 pages. Softcover.

Hundreds of photographs, accompanied with short sentences, tell the story of Eaton Rapids from is beginning to 1980.

Price: $37.50

Eaton Rapids Heritage Celebration, June 20 - July 4, 1981. 100th Anniversary of the Signing of the City Charter of Eaton Rapids, Michigan. Official Souvenir Treasury of Memobies by Clara Squires and Jean Kline. Eaton Rapids: Eaton Rapids Journala. 1981. 80 pages. Softcover

Several short articles of the history of Eaton Rapids. Contains many photographs and advertisements.

Price: $25.00

Jackson County

Reflections in the Pond: Concord and Pulaski Townships. Concord, Michigan: Concord Heritage Society. 1976. 272 pages. Hardcover.

Discusses the early development of Concord and Pulaski townships, the government, churches, organizations, families, businesses and many other things that went into making the townships as they known today.

Price: $29.95

Our Yesterdays. A Pictorial History of the Hanover-Horton Area. Brooklyn. Michigan: Exponent Press. No date (probably 1960's or 1970's.) 147 pages. Hardback.

The first settler in Hanover Township was Abiel Tripp, who arrived in 1832 with a party of relatives. In 1854 Mr. George Baldwin and Mr. Charles Stone built a grist mill and created a mill pond. A village grew up here, originally called Baldwin's Mill, but later changed to Horton. This book discusses early industry, education, churches and old homes. Contains over one hundred photographs.

Price: $25.00

Cracker Hill Crumbs. A Historical Sketch of the Parma Area. Parma Community Improvement Association. 1976. 196 pages. Hardcover.

Hundreds of photographs, accompanied by short historical sketches, provide an interesting overview of Parma and the surrounding area. Includes photographs of churches, businesses, old residents, and much more.

Price: $25.00

Kalamazoo County

Water Over the Dam. Vicksburg, Then and Now. Text by Grace Molineaux and Special Writers. Vicksburg Historical Society. 1972. 274 pages. Softcover.

Note: mailing address label in upper left hand corner of inside flyleaf.

Discusses early Native American settlement of the area, pioneer farmers and merchants from the northeastern states, Indian removal in the 1840's, churches, education, newspapers, agriculture, manufacturing and much more. Contains hundreds of photographs.

Price: $25.00

Kent County

In Celebration of Grand Rapids. By Ellen Arlinsky and Marge Ed Kwapil. Windsor Publications. 1987. 416 pages. Hardcover.

This book traces the development of the city's economic from the extractive industries of the nineteenth century to the emerging high-technology industries of today. Contains hundreds of spectacular color photographs and historical illustrations. A special section chronicles many businesses and organizations which have contributed to the city's success.

Price: $22.50

Lapeer County

The Attica Historical Book. Attica, Michigan: Attica Homecoming Committee. 1992. 130 pages plus 13 page index. Plastic comb binding.

Attica township was first settled in 1836, but it was not organized until 1842. Many photographs accompany this quick historical sketch of the township. Included is information on the Civil War, schools, businesses, farms, and much more.

Price: $30.00

Lenawee County

Hogaboam, James J. The Bean Creek Valley. Incidents of its Early Settlement. Collected from the Memories of its Earliest Settlers, Now Living, and Verified by Reference to Official Documents. Hudson, Michigan: Jas. M. Scarritt. 1876. 1980 Reprint by Unigraphic. 140 pages plus 22 page index.

Bean creek got its name from the profusion of locust trees which grew along the banks of the unnamed creek.. Only that part of the Bean Valley situate north of the south line of Michigan is treated in this book. Although that part of the valley is narrow, it includes parts of Hillsdale and Lenawee counties.This book discusses early settlements, the Toledo War, histories of the various townships and villages, newspapers, religious organizations, and education.

Price: $25.00

Macomb County

History Stories of New Baltimore. By Grace L. Skinner. New Baltimore Public Library. 1979 edition. 2 volumes in 1. 297 pages. Hardcover.

Note: "To Uncle Clem. Thought you might like to read some interesting information about Beautiful New Baltimore-by-the-Bay. Happy Reading! Love, Tom, Beth and Zack 12-25-86".

Brief historic paragraphs and pages concerning gas wells, rivers and springs, public utilities, city government, biographies, banks, hotels, schools, churches, newspapers, and much more.

Price: $35.00

Montcalm County

Gustafson, A. M. The Ghost Towns of Westville and Slaght's Mill. No publisher. 1976. 163 ages. Hardcover.

Westville, named by its founder Daniel S. West, was settled about 1870. Surrounded by forests, mostly white pine and with a cedar swamp to the north, it was destined to become a mill town for the manufacture of lumber and shingles. Discusses the early days of both towns, saloons, doctors, populations, entertainment, lawbreakers, churches, war, and much more.

Price: $17.50

Oakland County

Peel, Lee S. Farmington: A Pictorial History. Dallas, Texas: Taylor Publishing Company. 1971. 248 pages. Hardcover.

Note: "this is books No. 251 in a limited edition".

Hundreds of photographs accompany a historical sketch of Farmington, from its beginnings to around 1970. Included are information on pioneer families, businesses and industries, the underground railroad, and much more.

Price: $42.50

Osceola County

White, Marjorie Brown. Reed City Centennial. One Hundred Going on Two Hundred. Reed City, Michigan: Chamber of Commerce. No Date (1975?). 128 pages. Softcover.

Osceola County was surveyed in 1838. The first person to arrive in the county was Delos A. Blodgett. In 1855 Benjamin Gooch came and brought Mrs. Dillornie and her daughter a cooks for the lumber camp. James M. Reed founded Reed city in 1875. This book provides a brief history of the area before the founding of Reed City, the founding of the city, its educational facilities, churches, fire and police departments, library and much more.

Price: $35.00

St. Joseph County

"From a Meek Beginning"" Village of Constantine. Reflections of 150 years. Constantine, Michigan 1828 - 1978 Sesquicentennial. No publisher. No date (1978?). No pagination. (About 120 pages). Softcover.

Although it is not a complete history of the town, the book attempts to cover all of the important items that its citizens remember. William Meek came to the area in 1828 and established a sawmill. Soon several families settled in the area, which became known as Meek's Mills. In 1836 Meek sold his mill and moved west. As more people moved into the area, the name was changed to Constantine. All of the articles are very short and are accompanied with photographs.

Price: $15.00

Van Buren County

How it Was in Hartford. An Affectionate Account of a Michigan Small Town in the Early Years of the Twentieth Century. By Willis F. Dunbar. William B. Eerdmans Publisher. 1968. 223 pages. Hardcover.

Note; Ex-library copy.

Covers small-town life between 1900 and 1920, including the blacksmith shop, opera house, early automobiles, farmers, the county fair, churches, education, and transportation. Includes several dozen photographs.

Price: $20.00

Washtenaw County

Remembering Delhi Mills. Ninety Years of Forgotten History: 1827 - 1917. By Nicholas A. Marsh. Ann Arbor: Braun-Brumfield, Inc. 1984. 96 pages. Softcover.

Based upon the recollections of the town's oldest citizens and documented by deeds, court records, cemetery and other information, the author has compiled the first detailed history of this small Michigan town, only five miles from Ann Arbor. The book begins with early land speculation and investment, religious institutions, mill construction, decline of the town in the 1880's and partial destruction of the town in a 1917 storm. Contains many photographs and illustrations.

Price: $15.00

Wayne County

Detroit and its Banks. The Story of Detroit Bank and Trust. By Arthur M. Woodford. Wayne State University Press. 1974. 298 pages. Hardcover.

Written to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the Detroit Bank and Trust. It is a history of Detroit's banking community as well as the story of the city's commercial and industrial life. Beginning with the settlement of Detroit as a French outpost to control the lucrative fur trade, we learn of the Indian bartering system, early forms o money, Detroit's growth as a mercantile center, the famous wildcat banks, the development of industry and growth of banking following the Civil War, the panics of the 1870s and 1890s, the beginning of the automobile industry, World War I, World War II, the Great Depression and much more.

Price: $10.00