Museum - Harbor Springs Area Historical Society in Harbor Springs, Michigan

Congratulations to our neighbors at the Little Traverse Museum on the recent digitization of their collection. Browse their database below and then head over to the HSAHS Collection at https://harborsprings.pastperfectonline.com

It's WONDER Wednesday! This week's WONDER is the legacy of the lumber industry. Up here in the north woods, we have quite a logging history. By the 1870s, there... were 400 sawmills and 800 logging camps in Michigan's Lower Peninsula, many of them clustered in the northern half of the state. Only remnants of this booming era exist today. The next time you are out and about in the Harbor Springs area, ponder this: Camp What? Camp Kijikon operated on what is now Pleasantview Road in the early 1900s. It was owned by Thorne Swift, for whom the LTC preserve is named. Why Bull Moose Hill? The "Bull Moose" was a steam-powered tractor with cleated belt wheels that moved logs down Bull Moose Hill (which starts on the Shore Drive west of town) through Zorn Park to the waterfront mills. Stutsmanville: more than just a road. The crossroads of Stutsmanville and State Roads were the scene of a bustling lumber village in the late 1800s and early 1900s, connected to Harbor Springs by Ephraim Shay's Hemlock Central.

There's still time to register for our lecture on icebreaking in the Great Lakes - taking place on Zoom tonight (1/21) at 7:00 pm. Registered guests will receive a link to a recording of the talk as well as the Zoom link to watch the presentation live. https://www.harborspringshistory.org/events/

On January 20, 1903, the Detroit Edison Company, now part of DTE Energy, was incorporated. Pictured here is the Engine and Dynamo Room of a Detroit power plant in 1903. Two rows of belt-driven dynamos (left) are being powered by a single row of steam engines (right).

Recently a generous donor brought in over a hundred glass plate negatives taken by local photograph Eri Babcock around 1900. This fun image from that collection shows the ice boat "Bluebird." #LearnLocal #HarborSprings

We had such fun helping Harbor Springs Public Schools students complete their mini Festival of the Book projects. Students recreated a book called "The Old Truck" using a stamp of Ephraim Shay's historic 1893 AHA boat to illustrate their version of the story, titled "Old Boat." #LearnLocal #HarborSprings #History

We've added some sparkle to our legacy courtyard and invite everyone to stop by and snap a memorable 2020 holiday photo. #holidaysparkle #tistheseason #makingmemories #historymuseum

New in our museum store - 500 piece puzzle, "Common Wealth of Michigan, c. 1935." https://www.harborspringshistory.org//puzzle-commonwealth/

HSAHS Trustee, Molly Baker is inspiring local knowledge and appreciation. Check this out!

Take and Make Story Time today, Saturday, November 7th! Packets will be on the bench outside. First come, first served! No purchase necessary, but if you would... like to include the book, call or email. 231-526-6658 [email protected] #betweenthecovers #harborsprings #petoskey #kidsbooks #kidactivities #storytime #picturebooks #takeandmake #curbsidepickup

To celebrate #ElectionDay we're sharing this 1914 campaign card from our archive. Lette Shay was the only child of Ephraim Shay, inventor of the Shay Locomotive. Lette and his wife Katherine lived on Main St in Harbor Springs with their three daughters. #HarborSprings #LocalHistory Lette didn't win the seat in the Michigan House of Representatives, it went to Petoskey native and incumbent Dana H. Hinkley who served from 1911-1916. Harbor Springs resident Andrew L. Deuel served next from 1917-1920.

Wishing you a happy, safe and spooky Halloween! #historicpostcards #HalloweenFun

9&10 News recently visited Harbor Springs to take the SkeleTOUR and stopped to chat about our skeleton, Jane, who is "waiting for the ferry" outside the museum. Our interview begins around the 4 minute mark. https://www.9and10news.com//mtm-on-the-road-downtown-harbo

The second video in our series "Matters of Grave Importance" focuses on inventor and Civil War veteran Ephraim Shay. #LearnLocal #MattersofGraveImportance #HarborSprings #MImuseumsfromhome

Happy Michigan Archaeology Day! We’re taking our celebration virtual this year with an all-new webpage. Explore active archaeology projects from around the stat...e, take virtual tours, and find activities for the entire family to enjoy. Start your exploration at www.miplace.org/archaeology-day! See more

We still have spots available for tomorrow's genealogy appointments. Celebrate #FamilyHistoryMonth by learning your ancestor's story. #harborsprings #historymuseum #genealogy #ancestry

We are thrilled to present the first video of our new series - "Matters of Grave Importance." As Halloween approaches, we've "spook-ified" our digital programming and will be bringing you new videos in the series each week centering on the history of Lakeview Cemetery, gravestone architecture and the famous historical figures buried at the cemetery. #LearnLocal #HarborSprings #HistoryMuseum #HalloweenHistory #MIMuseumsFromHome https://youtu.be/lctIastt4dA

After having to cancel Tom Graham's lecture on historic hotels twice, we are happy to announce that his presentation is now available to view online on our Youtube page. #MIMuseumsFromHome #harborsprings #harborhistory

Thanks to Jane Kaup for sharing this fun photograph of her pups with our skeleton "Jane." #skeleTOUR #historymuseum #harborsprings

Congratulations to our Program Coordinator Beth and her new husband Ben on their recent marriage at the museum! Photography by @kristenrsmithphotography #harborsprings #historymuseum #marriedatthemuseum #shayhouse #weddingbells #northernmichiganweddings

Today's #throwbackthursday takes us to c. 1890 when ferries carried 5,000 passengers a day ran around Little Traverse bay. We think the men in this photograph worked on the ferry behind them, either as captains or as engineers and coal shovelers for the vessel's steam engine. #harborspringshistory #learnlocal #historymuseum #ferry #dontmisstheboat Learn more - https://www.harborspringshistory.org/history-museum-exhibi/

NEW VIDEO - This "Collections Corner" highlights a hair wreath from 1857. Donated by former resident Pauline Chorley, the wreath was made by her great-grandmother Elizabeth Cook. #HarborSprings #historymuseum #CollectionsCorner #learnlocal #hairart #MIMuseumsFromHome