The Days of the Old Stage
The women in this vintage photo seem to be having fun in the “old stage coach.” One suspects that, even then, the stagecoach could evoke the “romance” of the old frontier.
History’s First Aerial Elopement
Art Smith and Aimee Cour couldn’t marry in Indiana. They could marry in Michigan, but they had to get there. Fortunately for them, Art was a pilot!
The Rise and Fall of Pere Cheney, Michigan
During the boom years of Michigan’s lumbering era, many mill towns were founded practically overnight. Pere Cheney, platted in 1874, was one such town. Today, the ghost town of Pere Cheney exists only on old maps, and only a few gravestones remain to mark what was once the seat of Crawford County.
For “the Flyer, Flying Executive and the Aero Tourist”
Fraser, Michigan was once home to a small airport—the Thomas B. Joy Airport. This small airfield was one of dozens found across Michigan in the years following World War II.
Out With the Old, In With the New
In 1894, the Lansing City Council authorized bonds to build a new City Hall on the corner of Ottawa and Capitol Avenues. Accepting the plans of prominent architect Edwyn A. Bowd, the Council spent $150,000 on this new structure.
State Police Movie Heroes
Here, we see some fine silent film melodrama. The hero, played by Romaine Fielding, lies unconscious on the railroad tracks. Fortunately, this time, the Michigan State Police can ride to the rescue!
A Champion Dairy Herd
Traverse Colantha Walker was a world record holding Holstein-Friesian dairy cow. She was born on the grounds of the Traverse City State Hospital on April 29, 1916.
A Fruitful Industry
Michigan’s fruit industry started to boom about the time of the Civil War. Today, the state continues to be a leader in fruit production.
Keeping on Track at WMU
From 1909 to 1949, Western Michigan University students traveled to and from campus on the “Western State Normal Railroad” or “Toonerville Trolley.” Registered and classified as a railroad, the trolley is the only incline railroad ever operated in Michigan and possibly the only railroad owned and operated by a college or university.
“Oh, I do wish this crewel war was over.”
“Oh, I do wish this crewel war was over.”
Mack Ewing penned this sentiment after his brother-in-law, Alvin Hank, was taken prisoner by the Confederate army. This is just one of the many events recounted in the Civil War Letters of Mack and Nan Ewing Collection.
The Michigan death records collection here at Seeking Michigan, covering the years 1897 to 1920, is now largely complete. With the records added recently, there are now more than 960,000 certificates available for free at this site, meaning that the project is now 99% complete. 
