Celebrating 150 Years

Michigan City Historical Society Anual Meeting, Saturday October 25, 2008

Michigan City Public Library Meeting Room

2:00 PM

"Working Waterfronts: Planning and Preserving the Maritime Traditions of St. Joseph and Benton Harbor"

With more coastal area than any other state in the continental U.S., Michigan and its surrounding Great Lakes have long served as one of our nation's most important maritime regions.  

In many Great Lakes communities, as waterfronts changed in association with evolving economies, vestiges of the region's remarkable maritime heritage have been lost to time. In many respects, St. Joseph and Benton Harbor have been an exception to this rule - still offering a wide range of commercial, industrial and recreational uses. It is a heritage in transition, however, and one that demands immediate attention. The new exhibit, Working Waterfronts: Planning and Preserving the Maritime Traditions of St. Joseph and Benton Harbor, will be designed to do just that.  

The Heritage Museum and Cultural Center's Executive Director, Kenneth Pott, will offer an illustrated presentation on the exhibit, and related programs, and educational resources that are being developed to interpret and celebrate St. Joseph and Benton Harbor's maritime history, and thereby creating a dialogue that will engage citizens and local government in determining what should be preserved, and how to plan for the future of the waterfront. The Working Waterfronts program is also being designed to serve as a model for other Great Lakes communities to address their own issues of maritime preservation and waterfront development.  

On Saturday August 9, 2008 more than 150 people gathered in celebration of the Michigan City Lighthouse sesquicentennial.

Folksinger Lee Murdock performed on August 9

The Michigan City Historical Society offers thanks to those participating in the special program.

* Welcoming Remarks by Michigan City Historical Society President Fred DeVries

*Greeting by Hon. Scott Pelath, Indiana State Representative

*"Marine Safety on the Great Lakes" by Chief James Allison, U.S. Coast Guard

*Songs of the Great Lakes by Acclaimed Folksinger Lee Murdock

*Portrayal of Miss Harriet Colfax, Michigan City Lighthouse Keeper 1861-1904 by Local Actress Sandy Gleim

Welcome!

The Michigan City Historical Society hopes that you will visit with us at the Old Lighthouse Museum, the oldest remaining lighthouse in Indiana.

* Tour the historic 1858 Michigan City Lighthouse and climb the tower into the lantern room.

* Learn about the three Michigan City Lighthouses.

* See an exhibit about Miss Harriet Colfax, Michigan City Lighthouse Keeper from 1861 until 1904. She was a relative of Schuyler Colfax, U.S. Grant's Vice President.

* See a collection of beautiful ship models that we now have on loan.

* See a new display of running lights from the ship, Showboat. The Showboat housed a theater in which the play Tobacco Road was performed.

* See exhibits about Lake Michigan shipwrecks, including a collection of picture postcards commemorating the Eastland Disaster, the tragic sinking of a steamship bound for Michigan City's Washington Park from Chicago in 1915.

* Learn about Abraham Lincoln's funeral train and its stop in Michigan City.

* Learn about local maritime history and the ships that have sailed in and out of our harbor.

* Learn a bit about the history of Michigan City, Indiana.