During Grand Rapids' growth at the dawn of the 20th century, the west side of the Grand River became home to a large population of Polish and German immigrants. Among those Polish immigrants were Tomasz and Julia Kaicel, parents of Stanley Ketchel . . . — — Map (db m243434) HM
On this site
November 25, 1883
The Salvation Army
commenced operations in
the state of Michigan
serving with heart to God
and hand to man — — Map (db m242884) HM
The Village of Grand Rapids was organized by an act of the Michigan legislature on April 5, 1838. Located on the east side of the Grand River, the village was bounded by Fulton Street on the south, Hatch's Addition on the east, Hastings Street on . . . — — Map (db m242112) HM
The Massillon Bridge Company of Ohio built this $31,000, four-span bridge for Grand Rapids in 1886. The rust-resistant wrought iron used in its four Pratt trusses accounts for its durability. In 1921 the western truss was shortened when the west . . . — — Map (db m176446) HM
Established in 1864, the Cascade Christian Church is the oldest of its brotherhood in Kent County. Alfred Stow and his parents, Zebulon and Edytha, who settled in the area in the early 1860s led the efforts to organize the church. The Stows had also . . . — — Map (db m182788) HM
Built in 1898, Cascade Township Hall is a rare example of a well-preserved nineteenth century frame town hall. Cascade Township was established on April 3, 1848, when the state legislature set off Ada and Cascade Townships north and south of the . . . — — Map (db m182787) HM
The 126th Infantry Regiment has been in active military service since 1855. The regiment began as militia companies in Grand Rapids. They provided the core of the Third Michigan Infantry Regiment, which served in the Civil War. After the war, . . . — — Map (db m199196) HM
Barber and Mary Swan Briggs migrated to the Ann Arbor area from New York State in 1834. They moved to a large parcel of land near Grand Rapids in 1850, clearing it for a farm and constructing this house in 1850-52. Their son Edward served in the . . . — — Map (db m202669) HM
Monroe Avenue Water Filtration Plant
During the late nineteenth century, Grand Rapids residents relied on private companies to provide purified drinking water. As the city grew, so did the need for clean water. In 1900 a city-owned facility . . . — — Map (db m176429) HM
Dedicated to the men and women wounded in all our wars preserving the freedom of the United States
Combat Wounded
My stone is red for the blood they shed. The medal I bear is my country's way to show they care. If I could be seen by all mankind . . . — — Map (db m190049) WM
In April 1886, the Board of Managers of the Michigan Veterans' Facility set aside five acres for a cemetery. The Grand Rapids Post of the Grand Army of the Republic dedicated the cemetery on Memorial Day, May 31, 1886. The original cemetery was . . . — — Map (db m176444) HM
The Michigan Veterans’ Facility (formerly the Michigan Soldiers’ Home) was authorized by Act 152 of the Public Acts of 1885, which provided for the establishment of a home for disabled Michigan veterans. This act resulted from the efforts of Civil . . . — — Map (db m176445) HM
Born 1797
Ordained a Priest 1823
Consecrated a Bishop 1853
Died 1868
Proclaimed Venerable 2012
Bishop Frederic Baraga
1797-1868
Born in Slovenia and educated in Vienna, Baraga was ordained to the priesthood in 1823. A . . . — — Map (db m168170) HM
On September 18, 1836, twenty-two persons, under the direction of the Reverend Silas Woodbury of Kalamazoo, founded one of the first Protestant congregations in Grand Rapids. Initially a Presbyterian parish, the church was reorganized under the . . . — — Map (db m99986) HM
Fountain Street Baptist Church
In 1869, the Reverends Nathan A. Reed and Isaac Butterfield merged their two churches into the Baptist Church of the City of Grand Rapids. The Reverend Dr. Samuel T. Graves served as pastor until 1885, when he . . . — — Map (db m176448) HM
In 1870, six women who had been meeting for a year to study history, organized Grand Rapids' first Ladies Literary Association. The group was also instrumental in opening the first public library in the city that same year. In 1882 the association . . . — — Map (db m99985) HM
One of the most devastating events in Grand Rapids’ history occurred on the morning of July 26, 1883. Two weeks of record-setting rains had raised the Grand River to flood stage. When lumbermen tried to take advantage of the high water to float . . . — — Map (db m153293) HM
Michigan Centennial Business
This plaque is issued by the
Historical Society of Michigan
In Recognition of
Paul Steketee & Sons
Founded in 1862
For more than 100 years of
continuous operation in service
to the people of Michigan . . . — — Map (db m176436) HM
Roger B. Chaffee
Lieutenant Commander, United States Navy
1935-1967
Grand Rapids Native - US Navy Aviator - NASA Astronaut
Roger Chaffee perished during a test of Apollo 1 on 27 January 1967 with crewmates Virgil "Gus" Grissom and Edward . . . — — Map (db m189913) HM
Boy Scout Troop 15. In 1918, eight years after the Boy Scouts of America incorporated, Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church chartered Boy Scout Troop 15 with a membership of twenty-six boys. The troop number changed to 215 in the 1940s. Among . . . — — Map (db m176452) HM
Aquinas had its beginning in 1887 as the Novitiate Normal School of the Dominican Sisters of Marywood. In 1922 it became Marywood College of the Sacred Heart. When the college was moved downtown in 1931, it became the coeducational Catholic Junior . . . — — Map (db m199193) HM
1906-1908 Construction years--under the direction of Edward Lowe and Susan Blodgett Lowe
1908-1938 Residence of the Lowe Family
1939-1945 Administration/classroom building of the University of Grand Rapids
1945- . . . — — Map (db m199195) HM
Mathias Alten Home & Studio
Grand Rapids painter Mathias Joseph Alten and his wife, Bertha, bought this house in 1914. Built in 1907, it was Alten's home and, from 1930 to 1938, his studio. Alten, who emigrated from Germany to Grand Rapids . . . — — Map (db m176453) HM
Shrine
Of
Our Lady
War Dead Memorial
Planned, Funded and Erected By
Aquinas College Students
1948-1953
In Memory Of
Stephen Paul Hansknecht
Class of 1983
Presented by His Hamily — — Map (db m176474) WM
Leonard Benjamins (1840-1902) emigrated from the Netherlands with his family in 1847, settling in the Grand Rapids area. In 1868 he started a clothing business that operated for thirty years. Around 1886, he constructed this stately Queen Anne house . . . — — Map (db m176449) HM
Side A The first Central High School opened in a stone building three blocks to the west. The state legislature instituted high school grading in 1859, and the first Central High School graduation was held in 1862. Two successively larger . . . — — Map (db m99990) HM
Side A Central Reformed Church was formed on April 23, 1918, by the merger of the first two Reformed churches in the Grand Rapids area: the First Reformed, an English-speaking church organized in 1840; and the Second Reformed, a . . . — — Map (db m99981) HM
Built between 1865 and 1870 by James and Hannah Gallup, this Victorian style villa is one of the oldest homes in the Heritage Hill Historic District. Gallup and his family lived here until 1896. The house was later owned by several prominent Grand . . . — — Map (db m99991) HM
Designed by local architect William G. Robinson, this castle-like edifice was constructed in 1884-86 for Colonel E. Crofton Fox and his brother Charles. Built of granite block imported from Scotland, this house is a fine example of Chateauesque . . . — — Map (db m99984) HM
This elegant and perfectly preserved Victorian mansion was built for Carl G. A. Voigt in 1895. Voigt came to Grand Rapids in 1870 and ran a mill and dry goods store with W. G. Herpolsheimer. In 1902, when the partnership ended, Voigt took over the . . . — — Map (db m99983) HM
Gerald R. Ford Boyhood Home
Gerald R. Ford, the thirty-eighth president of the U.S., lived here from age 8 to 17 (1921-1930). Of all his boyhood homes, Ford remembered this one most vividly. In his autobiography, Ford recalled that he and . . . — — Map (db m176451) HM
On August 5, 1852, Father Charles Louis DeCeuninck purchased ten acres of land for the formation of Saint Andrew’s Cemetery. The land was deeded to Bishop Lefevere on December 7, 1852. It was the first permanent Catholic cemetery in Grand Rapids. . . . — — Map (db m176450) HM
Grand Rapids is a city divided by the Grand River. In its earliest days, settlers crossed the river in small boats or canoes, or on frozen ice during the winter and temporary foot bridges in the summer. The need to tie the city together led to . . . — — Map (db m153292) HM
Reverend Parks was the first African American to be elected mayor of Grand Rapids.
Born in Lyles Station, Indiana, Parks moved to Grand Rapids in 1966 to become pastor of First Community AME Church. In February of 1968, Parks was elected and . . . — — Map (db m242111) HM
The Grand, Michigan’s longest river, rises from a spring-fed pond near Jackson and flows 270 miles westward before emptying into Lake Michigan. Formed more than 13,000 years ago by melting glaciers of the last Ice Age, the ancient Grand changed its . . . — — Map (db m153294) HM
Vandenberg Center. Vandenberg Center encompasses 12.5 acres lying to the northeast of this site. It was part of the land originally registered on September 19, 1831, by Louis Campau, Grand Rapids’s first permanent settler. Campau platted the . . . — — Map (db m232215) HM
In 1853, John and Christina Cutler and their ten children came to this area from New York and founded the town of Cutlerville. In 1891 Cutler’s son John Isaac built a three-story brick house. The interior was embellished with hardwood and heated by . . . — — Map (db m176438) HM
This house was built in 1908-09 for local clothier Meyer S. May and his wife. Sophie Amber. Frank Lloyd Wright designed the house in the prairie style. It was his first major commission in Michigan. May was the son of Abraham May, founder of May and . . . — — Map (db m170291) HM
This area is dedicated to the Ottawa Indian village site that existed along this riverbank, many centuries before the coming of non-natives in this area. It is the heart of a large native community that continues in this region.
Descendants of the . . . — — Map (db m176510) HM
Long before contact with Euro-Americans, Native Americans lived near Baw-wa-ting, “the rapids.” Some 2000 years ago Hopewellian Indians built numerous burial mounds in the area. This mound group became known as the Converse Mounds. As early as the . . . — — Map (db m176443) HM
Elizabeth Anne "Betty" Bloomer was born in Chicago and raised in Grand Rapids. She became an accomplished dancer and was fashion coordinator for Herpolsheimer's Department Store. On October 15, 1948, she married Gerald R. Ford. Together they had . . . — — Map (db m176431) HM
Beyond these gates is the final resting place of our Nation's 38th President Gerald R. Ford and his wife Elizabeth R. Ford
President of the United States 1974 -1977 Vice President of the United States 1973 - 1974 United States House of . . . — — Map (db m99970) HM
The first cabinet maker in Grand Rapids was William Haldane, who in 1837 set up a shop in his home at the corner of Pearl and Ottawa Sts. During the ensuing decades Grand Rapids attracted increasing numbers of furniture craftsmen. Under able . . . — — Map (db m176435) HM
President of the United States 1974 -1977 Vice President of the United States 1973 - 1974 United States House of Representatives 1949 - 1973 United States Navy 1942 - 1946I am acutely aware that you have not elected me as your president with your . . . — — Map (db m99968) HM
The Grand River’s greatest rampage came on March 24, 1904, when waters rose to 20.4 feet, more than seven feet above flood stage. Warm days and heavy rains had melted winter snow, and ice breaking up in the river created a dam at the Grand Trunk . . . — — Map (db m153295) HM
Noahquageshik, also referenced as Nawquageezhig and "Chief Noonday," was a very influential Grand river Ottawa Anishinabe (Original People) leader. At the turn of the 19th century, he was one of the Ogemuk (Chiefs) who led bands of the Ottawa . . . — — Map (db m176441) HM
In 1884 William N. Rowe, Conrad G. Swensberg, M. S. Crosby, and R. M. Lawrence founded the Valley City Milling Company in Grand Rapids. The company, which at first milled flour, expanded to include horse feed in 1893. Incorporated in 1894, it . . . — — Map (db m176442) HM
Villa Maria was founded by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd in 1904 as a haven for destitute young women. Many girls came here seeking shelter from negligent or abusive families; in later years some were referred by social service agencies. Villa . . . — — Map (db m199004) HM
In 1962, grocers Hendrik and Fred Meijer pioneered the combination of two popular retail models, discount department stores and supermarkets, in a single store. At this site, on June 5, they opened an 80,000 square-foot addition to the 20,000 . . . — — Map (db m176426) HM
The first trading post in Kent County was located on trail 44 rods to the south of this spot
Established about 1800, by Joseph La Framboise, kept by him until he was killed in 1809, and by his wife until bought by Rix Robinson and moved to Ada . . . — — Map (db m216760) HM
The Cabin This interpretive cabin is located on the site commemorated by the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1921 as the site of "The first trading post" in Lowell. The large stone marker gave directions close to this location. The . . . — — Map (db m216758) HM
Joseph LaFramboise Sr.
1765-1806
The first trading post in the Lowell area was built by Joseph LaFramboise who traded along the Grand River as early as 1793. While its exact location is not known, it was built on the north bank, west of . . . — — Map (db m216759) HM
In the early 1830s the settlement known as Alton grew up in this vicinity. A log schoolhouse, the first in the township, was built on this corner in 1839. In 1842, Gideon Hendricks and Newcomb Godfrey organized the Christian Church Society, and . . . — — Map (db m55251) HM
Broadway was a busy street in early Lowell. The first
school in Lowell was a log cabin built in 1838 near the
north edge of the current parking lot. The inside was
furnished with long benches made of split logs and desks
made of boards along . . . — — Map (db m216904) HM
This block has been an important block on Main
Street from the earliest days of town. Daniel Marsac,
local fur trader and early landowner, built a log cabin
tavern around 1840. The tavern served stagecoach
passengers on their way through . . . — — Map (db m217476) HM
There was a thriving business in Lowell based on
freshwater clams harvested from the Flat and Grand
Rivers. (1907 to 1948)
Clammers plied the rivers in flat bottomed boats with
a pole mounted on top. As the pole was dragged along
the . . . — — Map (db m216765) HM
The earliest settlers came to Lowell from eastern states. Forty four relatives of local fur trader Rix Robinson were the first to arrive in the Grand River Valley in the spring of 1835. Some of them settled along the Flat River. Other settlers . . . — — Map (db m216762) HM
John W. and Silas S. Fallas settled here in 1837, founding a village which soon boasted a chair factory, sawmill, and gristmill. About 1840 the first of several wooden bridges was placed across the Flat River, but all succumbed in a short time to . . . — — Map (db m55253) HM
(side 1)
Fallasburg was settled in 1837 by two brothers from Tompkins County, New York. In 1839, John Wesley Fallas purchased the northwest quarter of section 24 and laid plans for a village. His brother, Silas S., also purchased land at . . . — — Map (db m55255) HM
The large Native American population at the Flat River made this area important to fur traders. French and American traders came to this area to trade in the winter, returning to Mackinac Island and Detroit in the summers.
The LaFramboise Post . . . — — Map (db m217480) HM
During the late 1800s there were two hotels, one on
the south side of the street and one on the north side.
It was a prime location next to the businesses in Old
Wooden Row. The Lowell & Hastings Railroad depot
was erected nearby on . . . — — Map (db m217475) HM
The island in front of you was once a popular summer
destination know as Island Park.
"The large island in Flat River, south of the railway trestle,
often refered to as Island Park, was enjoyed by many people
during the summer months. . . . — — Map (db m216766) HM
John Wesley Fallas House
John Wesley Fallas built this house in 1842 in the village which bears his family name. Fallas platted the village on land he purchased from the U.S. government in 1839. That year, after a bridge had been built . . . — — Map (db m55254) HM
Dedicated with respect to all those men and women from the Lowell area who have or will serve our country in all branches of the military in "police actions" and "armed interventions" -- who froze in a guard shack on the 38th parallel in Korea, . . . — — Map (db m216767) WM
G.A.R.
Erected
by citizens of
Lowell & vicinity
in honor of the
soldiers & sailors
who served in the
War of the Rebellion.
1861-1865. — — Map (db m216907) WM
1990 - 1991
Dedicated to the Lowell area servicemen and women who served in Desert Shield and Desert Storm
Vietnam
Korea
World War I
World War II — — Map (db m216772) WM
The first sawmill in Lowell was built in 1856 by Seth Cogswell on the creek south of the Grand River. However, from the 1840's-1870, most of the logs went through Lowell on log drives which continued on down the Flat and Grand Rivers to sawmills in . . . — — Map (db m217479) HM
Pioneer Cyprian Hooker opened the wooden hotel,
The Franklin House on Christmas Day, 1855. After the
railroad came to Segwun, south of the Grand River, in
1858 the hotel advertised that "a good hack w:il run to
and from the depot." The . . . — — Map (db m216905) HM
325 West Main - Robert Graham built this duplex
as a residence for his family (west side) and his in-laws
(east side) in 1873. His wife, Emma, died of pneumonia
soon after moving in leaving three young children.
Graham then married . . . — — Map (db m216903) HM
The Odawa were the people living in the Lowell area when white settlers arrived. They would have said they were Anishinabe, meaning the first people or the original people. The area was heavily forested with an abundance of wild animals such as . . . — — Map (db m217481) HM
Looking across Main Street:
Negonce Block
The block across the street was the location of the first
frame house. It was built in 1846 by Cyprian Hooker. The
house was later moved to make way for a business block.
In 1905, fire . . . — — Map (db m217472) HM
This block, once known as the Old Wooden Row, was
the first business block in the village of Dansville
(Lowell). Built between 1846 and 1870 it contained 11
wooden buildings. Mrs. Julia Hiler's Millinery, located in
the westernmost building, . . . — — Map (db m217477) HM
North Side
At one time buildings nearly filled the north side of
the Bridge except for a small opening east of Mainstreet
Inn. The most prominent building is the old Post Office
building, built in 1884 after a fire destroyed the . . . — — Map (db m216763) HM
In 1873 Robert W. Graham designed and built this Italianate structure as a two-family residence. A native of England, Graham settled in Lowell in 1858. Here he worked as a brick mason, a farmer and a merchant. Graham's son Ernest, an architect, . . . — — Map (db m55252) HM
This has been an area of intense business activity and
commerce since the Pere Marquette railroad was
extended to Saginaw via Lowell and Belding and a new
depot was built between S. Broadway and Hudson.
Lowell Mfg. Co. would load sprayers . . . — — Map (db m216901) HM
The Union Block was built soon after the Civil War.
Many of Lowell's social events were hosted in the 3rd
floor ballroom of Train's Opera House, located on the
east end of the block. Seating in the Opera House was
increased to 600 after a . . . — — Map (db m216906) HM
In 1843 a group of twelve emigrants from New England and western New York State founded the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Vergennes. Originally part of the circuit running from Grand Rapids to Boston, Michigan, the group first met at the log . . . — — Map (db m182790) HM
The Flat River has provided water power for
numerous industries. Little evidence remains today of
the large factories that once lined the east and west
banks below the Main Street dams.
Hooker Grist Mill (Forest Mills) was built on . . . — — Map (db m216764) HM
This block had only a dwelling house, blacksmith shop,
and some sheds until the 1880's. Then Jarvis C. Train
built his second Lowell hotel called Train's Hotel,
containing two business fronts and one front for hotel
purposes. The hotel had a . . . — — Map (db m216902) HM
The Lowell Area Historical Museum invites you to explore the history of Lowell. Look for interpretive boards throughout town. Learn about different events, people and places that have shaped this community.
Imagine a landscape covered with . . . — — Map (db m216761) HM
The state legislature organized Cannon Township as “Churchtown” in 1846. At the first town meeting, held in 1848, it was renamed Cannon, after Cannonsburg, the largest village. The earliest land claims date from 1835. Families began settling . . . — — Map (db m182791) HM
The Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad (GR&I) reached Algoma Township in 1867. A series of wooden trestles were built to cross Wicked Creek, later named Stegman Creek. In 1885, after repeated fires and floods, the GR&I hired James House to cut . . . — — Map (db m182793) HM
In 1888 the Toledo, Saginaw and Muskegon Railway (TS&M) built this depot. It was one of six constructed that year on the line between Muskegon and Ashley. The depot typifies country “combination-type” depots; it sheltered passengers, the station . . . — — Map (db m182794) HM
President Gerald R. Ford, Jr.
Distinguished Eagle Scout
38th President of the United States of America
This sculpture of President Gerald R. Ford, as a 14-year old Eagle Scout, was created by artist Charles C. Parks and proudly presented to . . . — — Map (db m198989) HM
In Memory Of Those Who Have Served Their Country In The Armed Services
Roy Austen · Mirza Baig · Richard Bogard · Walter Bloomquist · Richard Bolema · Berson Bowen · Daniel Bowen · Lyle Breen · Ronald Brummel · Brian Cronin · Rex Denslow · . . . — — Map (db m189912) WM
Dedicated to the citizens of the Town of Coventry who made the supreme sacrifice serving their Country • • • Erected by the Coventry Garden Club May 30, 1949 — — Map (db m152527) WM
This American Liberty Elm was named after “The Liberty Tree: Our Country’s First Symbol of Freedom.” On the morning of August 14, 1765 Boston awakened to discover two effigies of British official hanging from the branches of a towering elm in . . . — — Map (db m83422) HM
This American Liberty Elm was named after "The Liberty Tree: Our Country's first Symbol of Freedom." On the morning of August 14, 1765, the people of Boston awakened to discover two effigies suspended from an elm tree in protest of the hated Stamp . . . — — Map (db m152526) HM
In Memory of Major Edouard J. Jacques For his dedicated service to the United States of America having received the Distinguished Flying Cross from the 8th Army Air Force during WWII (1944-1945), the R.I. Star, & for his dedicated service to the . . . — — Map (db m152528) HM WM
Of the generals of the American Revolution, second only to Washington. Built this house in 1770 and lived in it as a private. He joined the army at Cambridge in 1775. — — Map (db m83586) HM
