Join, donate or renew for 2022! Having a membership with the Washtenaw County Historical Society is a great way to support your community and the preservation and sharing of local history.
Watch the End of the Wall Street Journey
MoMS on the Move - The Museum on Main Street is located in a historic house, built in sections from 1835-39, that used to stand at 1015 Wall Street in Ann Arbor. In June of1990, it was moved past the remaining original homes and buildings of Lowertown, over the Broadway Bridge up Beakes Street to its current home at 500 N. Main Street. Click here for the long version with the comments of the videographer part of the fun and a view of the garage on Wall Street at the very end.
Celebrating a Century of Service
Service is at the heart of every Kiwanis club and the current exhibit at the Museum on Main Street celebrates a century of community service of the Kiwanis Club of Ann Arbor.
Click on the logo for a comprehensive history of the Club, the work the do and and their 100 year celebration!
This nonprofit organization of volunteers is dedicated to improving the world one child and one community at a time. They have been doing that for decades for residents of Washtenaw County with the support of proceeds from the purchase of treasures, toys, household necessities, tools, clothing and one of a kind items from The Thrift Store and Sales. Check out the Thrift Sale experience, re-created in the front room that will bring back some wonderful memories of the downtown rummage and thrift sales. And give you an idea of what you can find right now at the Kiwanis Center and Thrift Store on Staebler Road in Ann Arbor. Visitors will learn about the work Kiwanians do and how they do it - from an oversized scrapbook in the Exploration room to photos, art, objects, stories and artifacts throughout the exhibit.
The Museum on Main Street is at 500 N. Main at the corners of Brakes, E. Kingsley and Main Street. Hours are Saturdays and Sundays, Weekday appointments can be accommodated by emailing wchs-1000@ameritech.net or calling 734-662-9092. Museum on Main Street Covid-19 Safety Measures Because the health and safety of our staff, volunteers, members and visitors is the highest priority – masks are required indoors when visiting the Museum on Main Street. Free masks are available at the door along with hand sanitizer. The exhibit closes on February 20, 2022.
County History: is it More
than a Numbers Game?
Imagine life without numbers -
we could not tell time, measure or weigh anything, call anybody, identify a location or find our way from one place to another. The next exhibit opening in Spring of 2022 will sum up a few historical facts and figures with brain teasing questions to answer and puzzles to solve connected with the numbers of Washtenaw County.
Numbers are everywhere and connected to everything we do.
Eighty-two-year-old Fred Foster, sits in a room full of his collection of clocks and watches in his home at 712 S. Division St.
(oldnews.aadl.org)
Spring 2022 Exhibit at the Museum on Main Street
Argus Museum/Argus Collectors Group Fall Virtual Conference - October 2021
There's a lot of great stuff packed into the one-day virtual event taking place Saturday, October 23, 2021. All are invited to attend, regardless of your level of “Argus Expertise”. The first session of the October 23 conference begins at 12pm (EDT) and runs to 2:30. They meet again at 3:30pm and will wind it up around 6pm. Click here to register for the event. For more information, contact the Argus Museum staff at cchidester@onealconstruction.com or the argusmuseum@gmail.com. Check out our website at argusmuseum.wordpress.com or the WCHS page
Ask Our Historian...
Do you have a question about local history? Are you curious about a house or monument in your neighborhood? Want to know more about an event that took place when you were a kid? Wondering about the name of your street? Click on the question mark and send it to the Washtenaw County Historical Society.
Breakfast was delicious at the Museum on Main Street
Will it Still Snap, Crackle or Pop?
Virtual Tour of the Exhibit on Main Street
This exhibition is a partnership between the International Museum of Dinnerware Design, the Washtenaw County Historical Society's Museum on Main Street, and the Ann Arbor District Library.
The International Museum of Dinnerware Design’s Fourth Biennial Invitational and Juried exhibition, Breakfast, is all about celebrating the first meal of the day. In addition to work by contemporary artists, historic works from the IMoDD permanent collection will be seamlessly woven throughout the exhibition. Due to the pandemic, the exhibition is open virtually on our website.
Guests can plan to view the exhibition in person when it is safe to do so following common sense and state guidelines and procedures. Special tours are welcome by contacting the Museum on Main Street or emailing the exhibition curator at director@dinnerwaremuseum.org. An in-person closing reception is scheduled for Saturday, August 21st.
Juried prizes were sponsored by “Jiffy Mixes” of Chelsea Milling Company. To see a listing of invited and juried artists click here
Reimagining
500 N. Main Street
February brings a unique opportunity to the Museum on Main Street. We are re-imagining the best way to use the second floor of the museum.
To make space for the Pauline V. Walters High Density Storage System in 2020, some items had to be moved from the basement to the first floor. The new unit is beautiful and artifacts from the collection are being processed
and re-housed.
Many of the items moved are used for exhibits but not part of the collection. Our goal in the next few weeks is to re-organize the second floor offices, work space and conference room.
March is Women's History Month
The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in commemorating and encouraging the study, observance and celebration of the vital role of women in American history.
Spanning a timeframe of more than 200 years and showcasing over 200 objects, this exhibition examines the ways American girls have spoken up, challenged expectations and been on the frontlines of change. Girlhood (It's complicated) commemorates the anniversary of woman suffrage by exploring the concept of girlhood in the United States, but also how girls changed history in five areas: politics, education, work, health, and fashion. (Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History). Click here to view the exhibit.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic the office of the Washtenaw County Historical Society and The Museum on Main Street are temporarily closed to the public for the safety of visitors, members, staff and volunteers.
But the work of the Society continues. Our mission is to educate and inspire our community to engage in the preservation and presentation of area history.
The Washtenaw County Historical Society believes that history has a powerful impact when it connects the people, events, places, stories and ideas of the past with people, events, places, stories and ideas of today.
"Women on the Warpath" B-24 Liberator - 1943 In January of 1940, the Roosevelt administration asked Ford Motor Company to manufacture components for the B-24 Liberator bomber. Charles Sorensen, Vice-President of Production for Ford traveled to San Diego to observe Consolidated Aircraft's operations. On that visit he conceived the Willow Run bomber plant that eventually manufactured 8,800 of the B-24 Liberator bombers.
On November 5th, 1962, Martin Luther King, Jr. visited the University of Michigan. Photographs were taken of his historic and only visit to the U-M visit but were never printed or published and his visit was soon forgotten.
In 2012, the photos negatives of his long ago visit that resided in the U-M's Bentley Historical Library were digitally scanned and converted to positive images then brought to the attention of the public via the Michigan Daily. Read more...
On February 12, 1968, 1,300 Black sanitation workers in Memphis began a strike to demand better working conditions and higher pay.
Their stand marked an early fight for financial justice for workers of color as part of the civil rights movement. The strike also drew Martin Luther King, Jr. and fatefully became the setting for his “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech and his assassination.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at Hill Auditorium
Welcome Back!
The Washtenaw County
Historical Society
P.O Box 3336
Ann Arbor, MI 48106-3336
734-662-9092 wchs-500@ameritech.net
The Museum on Main Street
500 N. Main Street - Ann Arbor, MI 48104
734-662-9092 wchs-500@ameritech.net
Open Saturdays & Sundays
12 Noon - 4 pm
The Argus Museum
525 West William - Ann Arbor, MI 48104
734-769-0770 cchidester@onealconstruction.com
Open Monday-Friday
9am - 5 pm
(L) Unidentified subject of Ann Arbor photographer Obadiah A. Kelley, David V. Tinder Collection of Michigan Photography
(R) Daniel L. Quirk Jr. started the “Ypsilanti Players” in 1915 and played many roles during the early years of the theatre,, (Ypsilanti Historical Society)