Coe House Museum
371 W. Michigan Ave., Grass Lake, MI 49240
(517) 926-6070
Website

The circa 1870s Italianate Coe House Museum is located in the village of Grass Lake, Michigan. The museum’s displays reflect life in the latter part of the 19th and early 20th century.  Exhibits feature the history of the families who lived in the home, family histories of  local residents and alumni.

Museum Day Highlight: The Village of Grass Lake’s local historian, James Damaron, will be presenting information on local one and two room school houses in the area. Guides will also be on site, along with a book and fabric sale (running both Friday, May 8 and Saturday, May 9. 

Dewey School Museum
11591 Territorial Rd., Stockbridge, MI 49285
(804) 596-2254
Website

The Dewey School Museum is a restored one-room schoolhouse that tells the story of early rural education in Michigan. Visitors can step inside an authentic classroom, see original desks and teaching tools, and learn how local children were taught in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The museum offers a nostalgic and educational look at how schooling shaped community life.

Museum Day Highlight: Visitors can experience a short, interactive school lesson led by volunteers, just as students would have over a century ago. Guests are invited to sit at original desks, practice period-style penmanship, and learn about daily life in a one-room schoolhouse.

Ella Sharp Museum
3225 Fourth St., Jackson, MI, 49203
(517) 787-2320
Website

Ella Sharp Museum showcases 11 buildings on six acres of land. Historic Farmlane includes original structures from the early 19th century and several buildings that were moved to the grounds in the late 1960s. These buildings will be open for this event.

Museum Day Highlight: Petting zoo, free crafts for kids, crafters, food trucks and MMAA quite room for craft activities.

Hanover-Horton Area Historical Society
121 Tefft St., Hanover, MI  49241
(517) 563-8927
Website

HHAHS provides guided tours of a one-of-a-kind museum featuring one hundred fully restored and playable antique reed (pump) organs as well as displays depicting local history, an early 1900’s classroom, and local businesses and service.  The Conklin Museum is located in the 1911 Hanover High School building.  Across the street, Heritage Park features 80+ acres dedicated to agricultural history, including a antique farm equipment barn, a maple sugar shack, a board and batten barn, a sawmill, a planer, and an 1840’s log cabin from the area.  The log cabin will be open for Free Museum Day.  Wagon rides are available between the museum and the log cabin.

Museum Day Highlight: Children’s activities, food truck on site, organ demonstrations, museum scavenger hunt and wagon rides.

Hubbard Memorial Museum
317 Hanover St., Concord, MI 49237
(517) 524-8891
Website

Our main campus holds several buildings including the Paddock-Hubbard House, a pre-civil war (1840s) Greek Revival home which still has its original kitchen with open hearth fireplace and Dutch ovens.  The House is listed on both the National and State of Michigan Registries of Historic Places.  The campus also has a 19th-century carriage house, the Riceville School – a one-room circa 1850s structure moved from Gibbs Road, and an early farmhouse moved from Homer Street in Concord, one of the earlier homes in the Village.

Museum Day Highlight: Self-guided tours, along with a second location open: The Universalist Church building, located at 200 Homer Street across from the Mann House.  The structure is a Gothic-style white clapboard building erected in 1867 with European stained-glass windows. It no longer is used as a place of worship, but is listed on national and State historic registries.

Jackson Train Station/America 250 Exhibit
501 E. Michigan Avenue, Jackson, MI 49202
Website

The Jackson train station is the oldest continually operating train station in the United States, used an a an Amtrak location.

Museum Day Highlight: “Pathways to Patriotism,” an exhibit commemorating America’s 250th anniversary, highlights Jackson County’s connections to the American Revolution and the county’s commitment to freedom. The extensive exhibit, at the historic Jackson Train Station, displays several retractable banners, posters, flags and free educational literature, as well as rotating stories and photos on five large kiosks throughout the station. The exhibit was coordinated by the Jackson County Michigan Historical Society and funded by a grant from the America250 initiative. Representatives from the Jackson County Michigan Historical Society will be on hand to answer any questions.

Lost Railway Museum
142 W. Michigan Ave., Grass Lake, MI 49240
(517) 522-9500
Website

Lost Railway Musuem takes visitors back to the almost lost era of the Interurban Railway. Founded by prominent Grass Lake and Jackson entrepreneurs and businessmen, WA Boland, WA Foote and JB Foote. Once inside, visitors learn the whole story of the Interurban from its inception with a mule driven trolly to its demise because of the Model T.

Museum Day Highlight: Take a ride on the interactive Boland Express, a restored train car with a ride on immersive experience. We’ll be announcing our 30,000th visitor.