A leisurely Look at Michigan’s stories and traditions from yesterday to yesteryear.
The above image represents a “lost” piece of history – now discovered and housed within the Archives of Michigan. This blueprint – by famed Lansing architect Darius B. Moon – is to the residence of Ransom E. Olds, father of the Oldsmobile.
“Awful Two Year Drouth Hits Ingham County!”
…so read the headline of the April 5, 1910 State Republican. The Republican reported that fifty-two Ingham County saloons would be out of business for at least two years.
Michigan’s first constitutional convention began on May 11, 1835.
Marion “Babe” Weyant of Lansing, Michigan loved airplanes. Pilots called her “Babe,” certainly a name that evoked her youth and petite stature, but failed to capture her determination.
The women in this photo would presumably have appreciated the “miracle” of the telephone. They were early telephone operators in Lansing, Michigan.
Russell Leavenworth founded Leavenworth Photography in 1895. To ensure that his valuable negatives will not degrade, the Archives of Michigan has begun to preserve them.
The striking image above comes from the Leavenworth Photograph Collection. Leavenworth Photography of Lansing, Michigan created one of the largest collections of Oldsmobile photographs.
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.
As the United States entered World War II, the US military needed weapons. Already well known for expertise in manufacturing, Michigan seemed the logical place to begin mass production of defense products.
John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865. As the nation grieved, a hunt for the killer ensued. Baker’s cousin, Lafayette Baker (also from Lansing) headed the Secret Service investigation, with Luther and Everton J. Conger assisting him. Once they picked up Booth’s trail, they set out in pursuit.
