Muskegon has many beautiful old historic buildings and one of my favorites is the Hackley Public Library. The Historical marker in fron of the magnificent stone building reads:

On May 25, 1888, Muskegon lumber baron Charles H. Hackley announced that he would donate a library to the city. Hackley stipulated that the facility be “forever maintained as a library.” Patton and Fisher of Chicago, one of the six firms invited to submit a plan for the library designed a Richardsonian Romanesque – style building. The library was constructed of Maine granite and trimmed with Marquette sandstone. The reading room windows depict Shakespeare, Goethe, Longfellow and Prescott.

Muskegon citizens celebrated the laying of the Hackley Public Library cornerstone on May 25, 1889, the anniversary of Charles Hackley’s donation of the library. It was the first annual celebration held in recognition of Hackley. The previous year the board of education had resolved that classes would be suspended annually on May 25 on Hackley’s honor. On October 15, 1890, the completed library was dedicated. The lot, building and furnishings amounted to a $175,000 gift.

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The Peter White Public Library stands in downtown Marquette and its massive stone construction makes it look like a temple. Built in 1903, it replaced the small library that was inside City Hall. The library is named after Peter White a local businessman, postmaster, real estate developer, Michigan state legislator, and philanthropist who lived from 1830 until 1908.

I use my local library often and having a place to go and find information along with people to help with research is invaluable. Happy National Library Week.

“A library is like an island in the middle of a vast sea of ignorance, particularly if the library is very tall and the surrounding area has been flooded.”  Lemony Snicket

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I saw this little log cabin library in the town of Hersey near the center of the state. I thought I was finished posting winter pics, but this week is National Library Week I thought this would be an appropriate pic to post. It’s a “take a book, leave a book” library with a sign on the door for Little Free Library.org  I feel fortunate to live in a country where books and ideas are shared freely and protected by the Constitution. I use my local library often as a resource for information. I hope you are fortunate enough to have a good library where you live. With all of today’s technology books are still a needed source of information.

Some of the libraries around Michigan have copies of Lost In Michigan books. If you want to purchase one they are ON SALE but it ends soon, you can order them HERE

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I am always on the lookout for historical markers like the one on the side of this building in the town of Dryden. Maybe someday I will have visited all of them but for now, here is what this one reads:

The Ladies Library Association was established in 1871 to provide reading material at a small cost to the community. In the beginning the association only allowed married women to be members and charged an annual fee of one dollar. The women of the association were also involved in charitable works, such as giving aid to Northern Michigan victims of fire in 1881. The association built this Italianate structure in 1885 for $1,500. The first floor contained the library, dining room and kitchen. The second floor hall, which includes a stage, continues to be used for plays and community meetings. Dryden Township accepted the building in 1974 and made it the public library.

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Prominent grocer and druggist in Coldwater, Edwin R. Clark, donated the money to build this grand library. Constructed in 1886 the library has been a part of the community ever since. It reminds me of a great white castle with its turret standing tall on the corner of the building. An addition was added to the original building in 1979. Out front stands a historical marker declaring the beginning of the state’s Library Association. It reads:

The first formal step toward the founding of a state library association was taken by Mary A. Eddy, of the Coldwater Free Public Library in a letter to Henry M. Utley of the Detroit Public Library on January 13, 1891. They had discussed this matter at the 1890 meeting of the American Library Association in New Hampshire, A state association, they believed would be helpful to Michigan Librarians unable to attend national library conferences. Working closely with Lucy Ball, Grand Rapids Public Library, they awakened statewide interest and arranged the first Michigan meeting in Detroit, September 1, 1891. Mr. Utley became the association’s first president.

I am thankful we have such a wonderful library system in Michigan. If my local library in Saginaw does not have a book I need, I can request it from another library in Michigan.  Even today with the internet, I still need to find information in books, and having the ability to access so many books is a blessing.

P.S. I also found this postcard of the library shortly after it was built and long before the addition was added in 1979. It must have been painted a different color before it was painted white.

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In Belding, Near the center of town stands this magnificent old library. The historical marker in front of it reads:

Alvah N. Belding erected this library in 1917/18 as a memorial to his parents, Hiram and Mary Wilson Belding. Alvah and his brother Hiram began peddling silk around Belding (then Patterson’s Mills) in 1858. With the help of their brother Milo, they began the internationally known Belding Bros. & Company in 1863. Michigan’s first silk mill was erected here in 1886 and operated until 1932. This library, which cost $50,000, was dedicated and presented to the City of Belding on May 14, 1918. It is the only structure built by the Beldings still being used for its original purpose. An example of Classical Revival architecture, the limestone structure features a Spanish-tile roof. Its interior contains trim of marble oak and pine.

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