Historical Society celebrates five years in the Harbor Springs History Museum
When the museum opened in December 2008, the Harbor Springs Area Historical Society fulfilled its dream to have a permanent home for history in Harbor Springs. To celebrate this fifth anniversary, the Historical Society is hosting an open house Saturday, December 7, 2013 from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. Admission is free and the public is invited to attend. The society will serve light refreshments, offer several Christmas ornament crafts for kids and have some old timey games on hand to play.
For the grownups, including folks who have never visited the museum before, the open house is a great chance to view our interactive permanent exhibits, see our current temporary exhibit “Turning Point: The War of 1812 from the Native American Perspective,” and perhaps try our onsite access to Ancestry.com. Also, if you want to give the gift of local history this season, all purchases from the museum store will be 10 percent off during the open house.
The Historical Society, which is a nonprofit organization established in 1990, had a long-time dream to open a local history museum in Harbor Springs. Beginning in 2003, the Historical Society worked with the City of Harbor Springs to determine if the then-vacant former city hall building could be a potential history museum. As history would have it, the organization successfully raised $1.9 million dollars to adaptively reuse the 1886 building as the Harbor Springs History Museum which officially opened its doors to the public December 5, 2008.
“History is important to our community whether it is through shared traditions, or nostalgia or even a simple story about one individual’s Harbor Springs story,” said Mary Cummings, executive director of the Historical Society. “We are honored to be history’s home in Harbor Springs and to collect, share and listen to the diverse stories of this incredible place.”
Please join us at the Harbor Springs History Museum, 349 E. Main Street in downtown Harbor Springs, Saturday, December 7, 11 am-3 pm. For more information, you can find us online at HarborSpringsHistory.org, like us on Facebook or simply give us a call at (231) 526-9771.
Caption:
The Harbor Springs History Museum opened in December 2008 in the former city hall building. The building was originally built in 1886 as the Emmet County Courthouse when Harbor Springs served as the county seat. Please join the Historical Society for the museum’s fifth anniversary open house, Saturday, December 7, 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. (Courtesy photo)
