Clinton Township Historical Commission

Clinton Township, Michigan USA

The current members of the Clinton Township Historical Commission are:

Jim Hungerford, Chairman
Jim Kowalski
Gerald Oehmke
Mike Tilley
Maxwell Heiderer
Frank Valdez
Sharron Butala
Karen Stephens
Zach MacIntosh
Clinton/Macomb Library liason Jeanine Taylor

To contact the webmaster use this address jphungerford@gmail.com If you are interested in being appointed to the Clinton Township Historical Commission click on the READ MORE

GREATER CLINTON TOWNSHIP HISTORICAL SOCIETY

On Monday, May 21 2012 we are presenting a movie called Mary's Buttons, It was co produced by the former president of the Greater Clinton Township Historical Society and current society member, Lynn Anderson. Since it is a long film and we have to be out of the library before 9pm, we are starting the film at 6:30 pm sharp. Come early to make sure you get a seat. The doors open at 6pm.

“Mary’s Buttons” is the true story of the murder of a Macomb County Sheriff in 1910, the first law officer to die in the line of duty in Michigan. The shooter was the 14-year-old son of a Belgian immigrant farmer in Harrison Township. The mother of the family, Mary Govaere, was put on trial for first degree murder, while the community, distraught by the loss of their beloved Sheriff, reacted with mob violence.

The film touches on issues that are as applicable today as they were in 1910. Do immigrants add or detract from our society and our economy? Should court documents be translated into foreign languages? Do indigent people deserve free legal counsel? Can a person get a fair trial in a town that is largely biased against both their case and their kind?

“Mary’s Buttons” was filmed entirely in Michigan at various historic locales, including the Clinton Township Historical Village, Crossroads Village, the Holly Hotel, the Lapeer County Courthouse, and the Allegan County Jail. The movie employed 270 actors and extras in authentic 1910-period wardrobe. It also utilized a number of authentic Model T Fords, horses and carriages.

The presentation is free and will held at the Clinton Macomb Public Library Auditorium at 6:30 pm.

Links

The following links may be of interest to those who seek information about local and Michigan history as well as general topics. Detroit Pix (memories from the past) It is worth a look. June 9 2007, a new link was added.Early Michigan History. Added August 12, 2009 is the David Rumsey Map Collection. This is good reading and should keep you up at night. Also, if you want to learn more about the history of the area, you can pay a visit to the Don Green Local History Room at the Clinton Macomb Public Library. Give the reference librarians your library card and they will give you a pass key.

Moravians

This is an account by the Historian Henry A. Ford.(Not the Henry Ford of automobile fame): http://www.ole.net/~maggie/macomb/moravian.htm.

Also feast your eyes on the Michigan Pioneer Series.

Pages 38-46 mention the Moravian Settlement in what is now Clinton Township The complete set is found in the Donald Green Local History Room in the Clinton - Macomb Library.

The History of Clinton Township

The History of Clinton Township Michigan

On July 22, 1782 David Zeisberger and his followers founded the first settlement in Clinton Township. He described the site of "New Gnadenhutten" in his diary, "founded on this side of the river a fine place to lay out a town on a height ... between the river and the height, there are many springs with many separate little brooks that flow into the river and have exceedingly good water. The land on the site of the town is so sandy ... the lowlands are very rich with heavy timber. We chose this place before all others for our town site ... heavily laden boats can go even to the fork, a half-mile higher up ... and canoes can go much further. We are glad and thankful to have found such a good and healthy a spot for a town site nothing was lacking. We found traces that long ago an Indian town must have stood on this place."

Clinton Township Historical Village

This is a panorama of the Clinton Township Civic Center, and the Historical Village. It also shows the Clinton-Macomb Public Library.

Click and drag on the picture to look around.

Thomas Dean

This is the exciting account of Thomas Dean.

He traveled in 1817 from New York to the Ohio River and northeast on the Wabash and eventually to Detroit. There are 77 pages to the series.
To see them all type "dean" in the search bar. With luck they will be in the proper order.

p1 1817 Journal Thomas Dean

The Moravians

The Moravians, was a nickname given to the religious group by Count Zinzendorf in 1727 while seeking refuge on his land. They pioneered worship in the vernacular, Scripture as the rule and source of all life, congregational hymn singing, and education for both sexes. In 1741 they established their center of operation in the New World at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania for their mission to work among the Native American Indians.

The Clinton & Kalamazoo Canal

When Michigan became a state on January 26, 1837, it was a land of vast forests and marshland which made travel to the interior extremely difficult. In order to help the movement of new settler's inland, the state legislature passed the Internal Improvement Act, which provided for three railroads and two canals.

The most ambitious of these improvements was a canal 216 miles long from Mount Clemens to a now extinct village named Singapore at Lake Michigan. Approval of the canal construction was popular because many who came to Michigan traveled by way of the newly completed Erie Canal and understood the advantages of canal travel. Clinton Township and the Clinton River were, in fact named after Governor DeWitt Clinton of New York who was instrumental in the construction of the Erie Canal.