Sneak Preview! Tri-City Heritage Tour

22 sites are scheduled for the innagural Tri-City Heritage Tour on June 26 & 27, 2010. Below are a few sites that will be included. For more information visit http://tricityheritagetour.wordpress.com


Southwestern Michigan Crate, Basket, & Veneer Machinery Museum, Riverside (Hagar Township)


Hartford Public Library/Olds-Merriman House, City of Hartford


Davidson Chapel, City of Coloma


Millburg Christian Church, Millburg (Bainbridge Township)

Historical Society Tour of Mary’s City of David

Historic Aerial of Mary's City of David, NBHS 9998.15.62

North Berrien Historical Society members and friends are invited for a guided walking tour of Mary’s City of David on Tuesday, July 27 at 7pm. Tickets are available pre-sale at the North Berrien Historical Museum at a cost of $10 for members and $15 for non-members. Tickets will be available at the door for $15 per person. Mary’s City of David was recently added to the National Register of Historic Places as an “historic district” and the tour will include Bethany House, which has never before been open for public tour. Also included will be the greenhouses, print shop, museum, and gift shop. Visitors will also be able to walk down to the famous Eastman Springs and enjoy refreshments served from the historic ice cream stand on the property. For more information about Mary’s City of David visit their website at http://www.maryscityofdavid.org. For more information on the tour call the museum at 468-3330.

Sping Events Bring Children to Museum

The museum has been filled with children this spring. On April 28th the local boy scouts opened their 1980 time capsule. Over 100 people were in attendance including boy scouts young and old for the opening ceremony. Artifacts from the time capsule will be on view this summer at the North Berrien Historical Museum. More information will be available soon.



School tours also filled the museum with Coloma 4th, 7th, and 10th grades all touring The Life Atomic exhibit in April and May.



Students not only viewed The Life Atomic, but also learned about local history including Native Americans, the lumber industry, and local agriculture.



Sadly, The Life Atomic closed on May 15. Yet, two elements will remain on view throughout 2010 - the bomb shelter and civil defense movies. Stop by and check them out this summer if you haven't already!

Speaker to discuss infamous LaPorte serial killer

Bruce Johnson of the LaPorte County Historical Society will give a talk on “The Infamous Belle Gunness” at the North Berrien Historical Museum on Tuesday, May 18 at 7pm. Gunness is one of America’s most prolific known female serial killers. She is believed to have killed over 40 victims before her disappearance in 1908. Johnson is an expert in the Gunness murders and will tell the tale through historic reports as well as modern DNA tests performed on the victims.

This event is free and open to the public.

The museum is open extended summer hours through September; Tuesday through Saturday 10-4.

For more information contact Alexander Gates, Director/Curator, at 269-468-3330

Inaugural Tri-City Heritage Tour June 26 & 27, 2010

The first ever Tri-City Heritage Tour will take place on June 26 and 27, 2010. The tour provides residents and visitors with a rare opportunity to explore and enjoy sometimes hidden and always interesting places and spaces in our cities and townships – all free of charge! More than 20 historic properties in Hagar, Coloma, Watervliet, Bainbridge and Hartford will be open to the public and interpreted by volunteers throughout the weekend. Sites will be open on Saturday, June 26 from 10am to 4pm and Sunday, June 27 varying by location.

The official Tour Guide with site information will be published as a four page insert in the Tri-City Record on June 17. Additional information, maps, and a full list of participating sites are also online at www.tricityheritagetour.wordpress.com. Free guides will also be available at tour sites including the North Berrien Historical Museum the week before the tour.

The Tri-City Heritage Tour is designed to create access, awareness and excitement about local heritage. The tour is self-directed and participants may visit as many or as few sites as they wish. Bring a friends and family and spend the day in the area visiting not only heritage sites, but also local shops and restaurants – many of which have long histories in the community. Several sites will offer free family activities.

Tour highlights include the Davidson Chapel in Coloma, the region’s earliest funeral home; the Tri-City Record office in Watervliet, which has published the local newspaper for 128 years; the Van Buren County Historical Museum in Hartford; the Southwestern Michigan Crate, Basket & Veneer Machinery Museum in Riverside; and Bainbridge Township Hall, housed in the former Bainbridge Center School building complete with school bell.

The Tri-City Heritage Tour is sponsored in part by a grant from the Berrien Community Foundation and is coordinated by the North Berrien Historical Society and the Van Buren County Historical Society.

For more information please contact the North Berrien Historical Museum at 269-468-3330.