The Society
On July 29, 1966 a group of history minded
citizens from the North Berrien area created the North Berrien
Historical Society. The group met twice a month at the Coloma Methodist
Church and dedicated its efforts to collecting artifacts and stories
about the area’s heritage. Leading the effort to collect artifacts was
Roger Carter, who was still living in the homestead that his ancestors
lived in since 1865. It was in his historic house and barn that the
Society began storing the artifacts it was collecting to augment the
collection that Roger had been gathering for years.
At the same time, another founding member
Bill Beverly Jr. led the effort to collect stories from old timers who
still remembered the pioneering days. The stories were first memorized
by members and the Bill began to write them down clarifying the facts
while people were still alive. Eventually all of this was recorded on a
video with Bill telling the stories he had uncovered. Bill also
contributed his collection of old photos and postcards to the group’s
rapidly growing storehouse of artifacts.
The Museum
In 1981 Roger donated his property to the
Society with a life lease. Construction of a log cabin building was
begun in 1989 and the North Berrien Historical Museum was opened in
April 1992.
The Museum was the beginning of a complex
that came to include five buildings on a four acre campus. In 1994 the
Nichols family donated money for the construction of an Agricultural
Barn just east of the main museum, and in 1998 the Beverly family
donated a wing – doubling the size of the building. In 2001 Roger Carter
passed away and his house and barn were added to the inventory of
museum buildings. Finally in 2003 a one-room print shop building was
constructed to house printing equipment from the Watervliet Record
newspaper.
In 2006 a millage was passed in Hagar,
Coloma, Watervliet, and Bainbridge Townships, as well as the cities of
Coloma and Watervliet, to support the operations of the museum and
mission of the North Berrien Historical Society. In 2007 a director and
part-time office staff were hired to administer the Society and its
collections so that they may be used for the maximum public good.
North Berrien
The term “North Berrien” refers to the
northern section of Berrien County, Michigan. This includes Hagar,
Coloma, Watervliet, and Bainbridge Townships, as well as the cities of
Coloma and Watervliet, and the towns of Millburg, Riverside, and Lake
Michigan Beach. Paw Paw Lake, southwest Michigan’s largest inland lake
is also located in North Berrien.
North Berrien Historical Society
2013-2014 Board of Directors
Scott Young, President
pauline@northberrienhistory.org
North Berrien Historical Society
2013-2014 Board of Directors
Scott Young, President
Bennet Leedy, 1st Vice President
Kandyce Hays, 2nd Vice President
Cindy Young, Secretary
Shirley Boone, Treasurer
Ray Mays, Assistant Treasurer
Karin Miller
Pauline Morris
Sherry Polashak
Sally Williams
Marc Hettig
Tom Scheid
Tracy Gierada, Executive Director / Curator
tracy@northberrienhistory.org
Pauline Wendzel, Director of Programstracy@northberrienhistory.org
pauline@northberrienhistory.org
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