Macomb County Historical Commission

Our mission is to procure, protect, preserve, and promote the historical resources and legacy of Macomb County, Michigan.

Historical Events of Summer 2010

Summer is a great time to get out and enjoy the historical resources of your local community. Virtually every area of the county has some variety of historical event, whether it’s the Octagon House’s 150th birthday (pictured in the first photo), a car show with vintage automobiles at the Packard Proving Grounds (pictured in the second photo) or candle-making at the Chesterfield Township Historic Village (pictured in the third photo with Historic Commissioner Kathy Vosburg and Brenda Rivard).

Most of these events are listed in the Local History Spotlight on this website: http://www.macombhistory.org/historyblog.htm

Heritage Alliance: The Heritage Alliance meeting of Macomb County is a meeting of the major historical groups of Macomb County. Since 1996 the various groups have been meeting in a different area each year. This year they met on April 17 in the Mt. Clemens Library and toured the Crocker House museum and the Michigan Transit Museum, both located in Mt. Clemens. A history of the alliance can be found here: http://www.macombhistory.org/historytales.htm#HeritageAlliance

Included in the program this year were presentations on how to register for a national historical marker, programming, marketing, and networking for historical groups, the role of the county historical commission in assisting historical societies, becoming a certified local government, and Billie Henning and Ken Schramm talking about the challenges of publishing your own historical book.

The Macomb County Historical Commission will be hosting their meetings on the fourth Thursday of the month, usually on the 9th floor of the County Administration Building in Mt. Clemens, at 9 a.m. The public is invited. Meetings for the rest of the year will be held on June 24, July 22, August 26, September 23, October 28, November 25, and December 23.

The Historical Society of Michigan State History Conference will be October 15-17 in Frankenmuth.

This website is now available at the shortcut www.macombhistory.org . It is also still available by going to the Macomb County site and clicking on History.

The Alexander Macomb Award winner in the Exemplary Individual Award Category for 2009 was Richard Gonyeau. In the Exemplary Institutional Category this year our commission named the Ford Motor Company. The Special Award for 2009 went to the Warren Historical & Genealogical Society for maintaining and preserving the Bunert One Room Schoolhouse as a museum for our citizens. This year’s award will be given out on July 7 at Memorial Park in St. Clair Shores.

The Macomb County Historical Commission has issued a special map for Macomb County, listing all the historical plaques, museums, cemeteries, historic downtowns, historic villages, depots, log cabins, schoolhouses, and other pertinent buildings in the county. You can pick up one at the county Planning Commission in the Administration Building in Mt. Clemens or by emailing macombhistory@yahoo.com.

While you are at the Administration Building, be sure to check out the historical display in the lobby on the first floor. This collection of historical pictures and artifacts of Macomb County is administered by Macomb County Historical Commission liaison Cynthia Donahue.

The theme for the 2009 Activity Book issued by the Macomb County Historical Commission was Macomb County Parks. Pick up one in the Administration Building or contact the Historical Commission at macombhistory@yahoo.com if you are interested in a copy for yourself, or if you are an instructor, click on, print out, and mail the order form below.

Activity Book Order Form