Beaver Island Historical Society Welcomes You to Our Past
In Response to the COVID-19
Sadly, the BIHS annual events that we all look forward to are cancelled this year this includes most Museum Week events including the Art Show and Blacksmiths. We anticipate a better outcome in 2021.
But, the museums are open!
During the month of September the Print Shop and Marine Museum will both be open from on Friday and Saturday only 1-4 and Protar's House will be open by appointment only.
All public health precautions will be observed. Members of the community can make a reservation to tour the museums outside of our regular hours by calling the Print Shop 231.448.2254. Please be patient with us as we navigate through these uncertain times and know there will be more time for fun in 2021. The safety of visitors, members, staff, and volunteers is our top priority, and we will continue to monitor new developments closely.
When visiting our sites please wear a mask and use the hand sanitizer at the entrance.
Sincerely,
Lori Taylor-Blitz
BIHS Executive Director
email: bihistory@tds.net
Our New Online Store is Now Open
Our store features over 50 items including our very popular Cook Book
Visit the Store Here
ORDER YOUR NEW EDITION OF THE BIHS COOKBOOK NOW!
The cost $20.00 plus tax and $3.50 for shipping and handling.
Cookbooks are also for sale at the museums.
Carl D Bradley Exhibit at the Marine Museum
The Beaver Island Historical Society was founded in 1957 to collect and share the fascinating history of Beaver Island. A remote island in Lake Michigan, it has witnessed many interesting and unique historical events, and has been home to various groups including Native Americans, a Mormon branch known as the Strangites, Irish immigrants, fisherman, lumberjacks, and many more.
King Strang
The Historical Society currently operates two museums on the Island, the Print Shop Museum and the Marine Museum, as well as two additional historical sites: Heritage Park and the Protar Home. We offer several resources and services to our visitors, including genealogical research, copies of archival photos, and a series of historical journals and other books for purchase. Additionally, we host many events throughout the year to promote the Island’s history.
Explore our history, find out about the king, fishing, shipwrecks, island life, natural history, our Irish heritage, and much more.
For an overview of Beaver Island History please visit: http://www.beaverisland.net/beaver-island-history
From Our Facebook Page
View the most recent updates at https://www.facebook.com/BeaverIslandHistoricalSociety/
Please go to our YouTube page and click on subscribe. We need 100 subscribers to receive a dedicated YouTube link.
We now have all of the cemetery talks posted on our channel.
www.youtube.com/channel/UCKloNLNeSkqtYTx-yNW0OcQ/
Beaver Island Historical Society of MI
www.youtube.com
The Beaver Island Historical Society was founded in 1957 to collect and share the fascinating history of Beaver Island. A remote island in Lake Michigan, it ...By “like” do you mean “subscribe“ ?
Done.
Please make a video of the stone cirkel. It contains a worked stone and I found exactly the same one over here in Belgium!
Yes please subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Done
Done. Subscribed via. Our Windward to Eden channel. It’s a sailing vlog channel, so hopefully some of our viewers will hit your subscription as well. They should be interested, especially those sailing in the Great Lakes. Hope it helps! Nick www.youtube.com/channel/UC_akjp816NEa4cvgbrwY0eQ
Done
Today marks 110 years since the loss of the Lake Michigan rail-car ferry Pere Marquette 18, which sank en route to Milwaukee, Wisconsin from Ludington, Michigan, in the early morning of September 9, 1910. Over 29 lives were lost, including the vessel's Captain Peter Kilty. Kilty was a Beaver Islander and son of Irish immigrant Patrick Kilty, after whom the island's Kilty's Point is named.
It's final resting place was unknown until July 2020, when shipwreck divers Jerry Eliason and Ken Merryman located the 338-ft steel hull in 500 feet of water far off the shore of Sheboygan, Wisconsin. It's stern lay deeply embedded in the lake bottom, with the bow jutting upwards some 100 feet above the murky sands.
For reasons still unknown the 8-year old vessel, built by the Pere Marquette Railroad Company for cross-lake rail travel, began taking on water faster than it's pumps could handle. In a desperate attempt to lighten the ferry's load, Captain Kilty ordered the ship's crew to jettison several rail cars from the stern, hoping that this tactic and an altered course to the nearest shoreline would buy the passengers and crew precious time. But as other vessels standing by for rescue watched, the stern of the Pere Marquette 18 suddenly dropped beneath the waves and plummeted like a spear into the lake bottom far below. Though her sister ship the Pere Marquette 17 rescued some 35 passengers from the dark waves, none of the ship's officers survived.
According to research by island historian Helen Collar "... she had been used as a pleasure boat that summer (a slack season for car ferries). Labor Day she returned to Ludington and was inspected for ferry service. Capt. Peter Kilty was dissatisfied with the inspection and did not want to take her out. When the company said they would get another skipper, he is reported to have said, "No, this is my ship. And if anybody takes her out I will"... At this date SOS had not been adopted. The signal sent was "C.Q.D," followed by, "For God's sake, send help." This was reported to be the first use of wireless for a distress call anywhere in the world and preceded by two years the historic C.Q.D. of the Titanic in 1912."
Minnesota shipwreck hunters locate long-sought Lake Michigan wreck
www.mprnews.org
More than a century ago, the Pere Marquette 18 started taking on water while crossing Lake Michigan, and jettisoned its cargo of rail cars into the lake in a desperate attempt to stay afloat. It sank with the loss of more than two dozen lives and the wreck site had eluded searchers for decades — u...I can't imagine the how difficult and terrifying their final moments must have been.
Our summer intern this year, Matthew Swarthout, takes you around the refurbished bottom floor of the Marine Museum. His exhibit on the Carl D. Bradley is ready to be viewed, so come down to the Marine Museum and check it out!
Thank you!
Well Done by our Marine Museum Intern Matthew Swarthout! The museum hours for September are 1-4 on Friday and Saturdays.
Very nice Matthew!
Very nicely done!
Bridget Cull Brown's grandaughter, Mary Elizabeth Brown's husband, John Freemon Fogelsonger was 2nd Mate on the Carl Bradley. Bridget was the daughter of Dennis Cull and Mary "Labley" O'Donnell Cull.
Ah Connaghan
Very impressive, well done!
Looks good Matt it was nice working with you there this summer
Matt, Great presentation & excellent exhibit
Great job
Well done Matthew! Can't wait for Frank Mays to come back and see your exhibit.
Very nice presentation Matthew. Love your enthusiasm! We will visit next year!! 🙌♥️
Awesome presentation Matthew Swarthout.
Wow wow wow. Great work, again! Are you thinking of a degree in historical museum design?
Todays hours:
www.beaverislandforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=15572
Print Shop and Protar's Wed. 8/26 and Museum September Hours - Beaver Island
www.beaverislandforum.com
It was disappointing to go to Protar’s home today and find the note that it was closed after the repeated announcements on WVBI that it would be open. Have to wonder what else is not happening.
The Sepeshy Mural has returned to the island. If you would like to sneek a peek please visit the Print Shop Museum and enter through the front entrance only. The Museum is open Wednesday, Friday and Saturday 11-5.
Funding for restoration was made possible by the many friends and supporters of the Beaver Island Historical Society, the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, Richard and Jane Manoogian, the Mike Sepeshy Family, the Northwest Michigan Arts and Culture Network, and an anonymous benefactor.
Conservation work was completed by Conservation and Museum Services Ken Katz.
Beautiful!
The difference the restoration and hanging it in this new space is remarkable.
It looks marvelous there!
When will the museums close in the fall?
And we preserve some of the history of the island’s gift: fishing!!! Very awesome!
An Island treasure!!
Congratulations!!!! I saw this in Ken Katz studio before restoration. It looks fabulous!
Can’t wait to see it...just beautiful!
This is just beautiful. It looks so nice!
It has turned out wonderful. My Dad would have loved to see it fully restored and hung in the new place. So glad he was able to make the desk for the print shop. Can’t wait to see it.
Photography by Frank Solle / Stillpoint Photography