Breakfast is Served 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.

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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

JOIN, DONATE or RENEW - 2021  For 163 years membership dues and donations (private and public)  have been, and continue to be our most essential  financial support. When you join the Washtenaw County Historical Society your contributions allow all of our exhibits and programs to remain free and open to the public. Your contributions helped fund a mew high density storage unit for collections and to maintain the largest artifact we have in the collection - the house that serves as the Museum on Main Street.

"Collaboration is not about glueing together existing egos.  

It's about the ideas that never existed until after everyone entered the room." 

Reimagining

500 N. Main Street

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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.

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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.

Girlhood (It's complicated)

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.

Congratulations to the Salem Area Historical Society

The 2020 Pauline Walters Memorial Award winner was the Salem Area Historical Society. The award will be used to create story boards that will recall “stories from the 1800’s and early 1900’s about the farming community and families of Salem Township.”  The panels will be displayed in the Dickerson Barn, which is part of the Jarvis Stone School Historic District. 

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...

(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)