Tribute to Janis Holle
A tribute film to Janis Holle, who was honored at this year’s Bridging History Award and who has done so much for MHS, St. Ignace, the township of Moran, Gros Cap, and to preserve the history of the Straits. Thank you, Janis, for all you do.
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This Event is free to attend at the St.Ignace Public Library. To Register for the Event on our Website: Go to the Trailblazing Women of Mackinac page
This Event will be presented by Richard Deitering, PHDc and is free to attend at the St.Ignace Public Library. To Register for the Event on our Website: Go to The Newberry Tablet: Its History and New Research page
Registration is Required to attend this event. To Register for the Event on our Website: Go to the Footstool Workshop Event page
NEWS RELEASE
June 12, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Molly M. Paquin, 231-420-3518
HISTORICAL SOCIETY AWARDED GRANT
The Michilimackinac Historical Society has been notified it has been awarded a $614,400 grant from the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) for the Straits Cultural Center project.
$9 million was awarded statewide to strengthen and sustain Michigan museums through LEO’s Community Museum Grant funding which will support museums and nonprofit foundations across Michigan operating educational programs that foster artistic, scientific, technological or cultural exhibitions.
“Museums are an essential part of Michigan’s cultural and economic fabric,” said Susan Corbin, LEO director. “They spark learning, fuel creativity and strengthen communities – all of which support economic growth. This funding shows our commitment to helping museums not just stay open but grow as vital spaces for lifelong learning and connection.”
141 museums applied for grants totaling over $80 million. Only 20 awards were given, totaling the $9 million available. Only those applicants scoring 97.5% or higher in the grant criteria were considered.
Recipients are receiving funding to support projects that stabilize, grow or enable museums to thrive in their educational and programmatic missions. The grant period spans from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2029.
“Michigan is home to over 650 museums, large and small, in every corner of the state. Each one serves as a hub for curiosity, discovery, and community connection,” said Lisa Craig Brisson, Executive Director of the Michigan Museums Association. “Public funding helps these institutions expand access, engage more people, and deliver high-quality programs, while also attracting private investment that multiplies their impact. The grants awarded through his program will strengthen museums across Michigan and deepen their ability to serve their communities.”
Funding for these grants was made available through an appropriation in the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity’s FY 25 budget.
“Michilimackinac Historical Society is very grateful to have been recognized by LEO through this highly competitive grant process,” said Molly M. Paquin, Executive Director. “Our grant writing team worked very hard, made sure every I was dotted and every T was crossed. We had to demonstrate our local efforts to stabilize, grow, and/or thrive within our exhibits and educational programs. We especially focused on how we will expand our mission impact and programmatic reach through our Straits Cultural Center initiative that grows internal capacity and sustainability,” she added.
“Receiving this grant positively impacts our ability to make considerable progress on the Straits Cultural Center,” Paquin said. “Because the competition was so great, we feel humbled that we were chosen and believe this shows our community how credible our project is and how dedicated our board, volunteers, staff and donors are to seeing this project move toward completion,” she added.
“I want to publicly thank those who worked with me on the grant writing team, Jill Eyre (lead), Susan Massaway and Jim Draze, for their commitment to crafting an excellent grant proposal and for their patience with me and multiple edits,” Paquin said. It was definitely a team effort of people who all believed passionately it would be successful,” she added.
The Historical Society continues to seek individual and corporate donations, foundation allocations, grants, and dollars from fundraising events. Anyone wishing to contribute may contact MHS through its website michmackhs.org for more information.
Awardees included:
Michilimackinac Historical Society $614,400
Detroit Zoological Society $819,200
Ford Piquette Avenue Plant $819,200
Michigan Humanities Council $819,200
The Great Lakes Children’s Museum $345,526
The Henry Ford $819,200
John Ball Zoo $409,600
Flint Children’s Museum $106,862
Flint Institute of Science and History $217,088
IQhub $98,468
Charter Township of Fenton $136,806
Detroit Public Schools Foundation $819,200
Ionia County Historical Society $108,954
Michigan Military Technical and Historical Society $36,277
Troy Historic Village $399,770
Air Zoo Aerospace and Science Center $819,200
Barry County $819,200
Dexter Area Historical Society $491,520
Hamtramck Historical Museum $95,558
The War Memorial $204,771
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Our archives have hundreds of photographs - professional portraits, and amateur photographs of people, events, and places. As is the case at many historical societies, museums, and archives, we often don’t have the names of the people in the photographs. Sometimes we will have a name but no information about who they were as a person, how they lived, and how they died. In these situations, I often wonder about their lives. What kind of work did they do? What local, national, and world events did they witness or experience? Did they grow up and live their lives here or did they come here as adults? And especially with late 19th-century photographs of children, I wonder if they survived to adulthood. Grim, I know, but the reality was many children died from pneumonia, typhoid fever, scarlet fever, tuberculosis, and influenza; not to mention unfortunate accidents such as drowning.
Sometimes, the stars align. Sometimes, like in the picture below, I will have a name on the photograph and the name and place of the studio where the photo was taken. From there, I can use MHS’s Mallett & Walker funeral records, the wonderful resources at the St. Ignace Public Library, and Michigan death certificates to create a more complete picture (if you will excuse the pun) of that person’s life.
James La Fever was born on February 6, 1874. The photograph was taken at Chas. G. Agrell’s studio in St. Ignace around 1884 to 1890. Agrell owned a studio in St. Ignace from 1884 to 1907. James grew up to become a printer, an occupation he worked in until August 15, 1932. His obituary in the St. Ignace Enterprise stated that he was employed at the newspaper offices for many years and a "printer of the old school and one of the best." He lived in St. Ignace for many years before moving to Union City, Michigan just a few years before his death. One week before his death, on October 12, he had surgery to remove stones from his bladder and urinary tract. He was recovering well when he relapsed. He died at 3 A.M. on Wednesday, October 19, 1932, at the Leila Hospital in Battle Creek, Michigan from chronic myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle caused by viral, bacterial, or parasitic infections, autoimmune disorders, and some medications, or may have an unknown cause). He was 58 years old. His body arrived in St. Ignace at 9:40 A.M. Friday, October 21, 1932, and was taken directly to Lakeside Cemetery, where he was buried next to his mother.
Erin Vanier, Curator/Collections Manager
The Dunham House was first built by L.H. Dunham and sold around 1885 to James M. Campbell. To the north was the Russell House, formerly called the Everett House. It is unknown when the Dunham House and Everett House were built, however, both are on the 1884 Sanborn map.
After Campbell purchased the Dunham House, the establishment’s popularity grew and in 1890 he built additions to the main building and doubled its capacity to 50 guests. The daily rate was $1.50 and weekly arrangements could be made for regular boarders. St. Ignace and Mackinac County 1895 described the Dunham house as “extremely popular” and recommended it for those “who are seeking a quiet and homelike place of abode.” Unlike many hotels of the time, there was no bar or saloon on the property “to make matters unpleasant.” The Dunham House had an excellent reputation as a first-class management and presenting a variety of food that is well cooked and tastefully served.
To the north was the Russell House, formerly called the Everett House. Sometime between 1884 and 1890, James Russell purchased and renamed the Everett House. By 1895 the business had been sold to William Spice who came from Lansing, Michigan around 1884. The Russell House had 75 rooms, offered lodging, a dining room, a billiard room, and a bar offering a choice of well-selected liquors, wine, and cigars. In the book St. Ignace and Mackinac County 1895, the Russell House was described as “a fine three-story structure of handsome appearance, and from its windows, its balconies, and airy veranda may be enjoyed an extended and lovely view of Mackinac Island and the straits. It furnishes accommodations for 150 guests, and under the careful supervision of Landlord Spice, the comfort of each individual…is assiduously attended to. The cuisine at the Russel is unexcelled [with] amply supplied and exquisitely served tables…the rooms are large and airy.”
Between 1901 and 1907, the Russell House came under the management of Bruno LeClerc who changed its name to the LeClerc Hotel. In 1912, J.M. Campbell sold the Dunham House to C.H. Stannus. Soon after he transferred the house to O.P. Welch and Valentine Hemm who, at that time owned the LeClerc. The Dunham House and LeClerc Hotel merged in 1921 and became the Northern Hotel.
By the 1950s the hotel had been renamed the Nicolet. The southern portion which was previously the Dunham House was destroyed by fire.
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps get their name from surveyor Daniel Alfred (D.A.) Sanborn, who founded the Sanborn Map Company in 1867. After the Civil War, there was an increased demand for the fire insurance mapping because of huge population growths and urbanization resulting from factors such as railroad construction, the Second Industrial Revolution, the Homestead Act, and immigration to the U.S. The company’s system of standardized mapping quickly led Sanborn to becoming the largest map company in America.
Sanborn maps primarily focused on business districts, although occasionally residential areas were mapped. Uniform and detailed information about each building was required for an accurate risk assessment. The maps detail the function of each building, its dimensions, and building composition. Sanborn maps also included business names, street names, railroads, property boundaries, and locations of fire hydrants. Because of the detail in the maps, they are an excellent resource for genealogists, historians, researchers, architects, historic preservationists, and demographers. Sanborn maps of St. Ignace dating from 1884 to 1907 are available on the Library of Congress website.
