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Huron County Press



Huron County Press Local News

PUBLISHED: Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Learn some history at Huron City Museums during Pioneer Day



This Saturday everyone will have a great opportunity to learn some Huron County history first hand and enjoy a great day at Huron City Museums as part of Pioneer Days.

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The folks at Huron City Museums take great pride in the facility and strive to bring knowledgeable events and topics to the area.

Beginning at 11 a.m., Gerry Prich and David McDonald will give the story of the 1881 Fire that nearly destroyed most of Huron County.

At 1 p.m., local photographer and historian Mark Green will present his own interpretation, mainly through pictures of the history of Bad Axe.

During the afternoon at 3 p.m. the "Blue Water Ramblers" will be on site for everyone's enjoyment.

The Blue Water Ramblers sing extraordinary folk music- the folk song of Michigan, America and everyone's life.

"We perform wherever people want to celebrate: Folk festivals and concerts, paddle wheelers and lake ships, in cities and out in the woods, on stages and around campfires, at church gatherings and traditional dances."

The Blue Water Ramblers' repertoire comes right out of our Michigan life experiences and the history of the Great Lakes region. It includes lake shanties, lumberman ballads, union rallying cries, farmers' paeans, Michigan humor, 60s civil rights and protest music, love songs, gospel music and children's ditties. "Everyone agrees that these combine into a versatile repertoire to the delight and entertainment of their audiences. 'I think my hero, Woody Guthrie, would approve,'" said Banjo-Jim. "We're singing the people's songs about the people's lives and they can join right in and sing along."

The Huron City Museums exist to preserve, display and present the buildings, collections and grounds of Huron City village and the House of Seven Gables as historical museums, which are open to the public for tours, groups and community events.

In 1951, a small museum at Huron City was opened to the public to house and display Prof. William Lyon Phelps' library and archive, along with artifacts and memorabilia of Huron City history. Over the following years, founder Carolyn Hubbard Parcells Lucas and her husband Russell H. Lucas added buildings and displays to the museum.

First, the 1837 LaGassa log cabin was moved from its location in the garden of Seven Gables and set down next door to the museum. The Huron City Church and property was added next. The General Store and Community House were restored and put on display so that the museum was now a museum village. In 1964, the building which had been the United States Life Saving Station #2 became available. Mrs. Lucas acquired it at auction and had it moved from its original location next to the Point aux Barques lighthouse to its present location in the museum village. It was furnished with artifacts donated by the family of Captain Oliver and a special display of Life Saving Service artifacts on loan from Ted Richardson.

In 1976, Mrs. Lucas was awarded a certificate of appreciation from the United States Coast Guard for preserving the station and presenting its history to the public. In 1987, Mrs. Lucas passed away, aged 92. She left the House of Seven Gables to the William Lyon Phelps Foundation to become a permanent display of the museums. Today the Huron City Museums welcome thousands of visitors each year and host events for the community. The House of Seven Gables, a beautifully preserved Victorian home, sits on a bluff overlooking Lake Huron. It was named by William Lyon Phelps, for the house of the same name in the Hawthorne novel. This is the third house built on this site.

The forest fires of 1871 and 1881 destroyed Forestview and Lakeview, its predecessors. Seven Gables has large double parlors, a graceful stairway, an elegant Victorian dining room, and is home to a portion of William Lyon Phelps' personal library.

Annabel Hubbard decorated Seven Gables in 1886 for her father Langdon Hubbard. After her marriage to William Lyon Phelps, Annabel added "modern" bathrooms and updated several rooms in the early 1900's. Major portions of the house still have the original 1886 decorations, giving you a unique view into history.

The Huron City Museums are owned and operated by the William Lyon Phelps Foundation, a private, charitable, tax exempt organization founded in 1947 by Charles A. Parcells, Sr. (1888-1948).

The foundation commemorates the teaching, writings and life of Yale professor of English, William Lyon Phelps (1865-1943). It is dedicated to educational and charitable purposes.





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