Clinton County Historical Society

Michigan's Clinton County Historical Society is the umbrella organization for two groups: the Paine-Gillam-Scott Museum and the Archives. The Museum is located in St. Johns, Michigan while the Archives is located in DeWitt, Michigan. The Archives is also know as the Genealogists of the Clinton County Historical Society.

To go to the Archives' website click HERE.

To go to the Museum's website click HERE.

To go to the Museum's Facebook page click HERE.

Benefits

 * What are the benefits for becoming a member of the society?
 * What are the benefits the society has to offer for those who are not members?

History of the society

 * 1974, when the CCHS originated, a Genealogy Committee was established for the purpose of assisting persons searching for family history.  The committee held meetings in the lower level of the Bement Library.  One of their first projects was the indexing of the county atlases.  They updated tombstone readings, noted items of genealogical interest in local libraries, worked on various indexing projects, and began gathering material.  The committee's holdings were first stored in an upstairs room at the PGS Museum.  The collection outgrew the Museum room and was moved to another site in St. Johns on E. Walker St.  Still later, it was transferred to the former of home of Hila Bross on French Road.  In Nov. 1982 room in the DeWitt Twp. Comm. Bldg., originally the Valley Farms School, was offered and so the holdings were transferred to that building.  The Archives of the Clinton Co. Historical Society, as they are now known, have occupied various rooms in that building through its several renovations.  In June of 2001, due to another renovation, the Archives moved to its present location in the west end of the building.  The collection has expanded to an unforeseen size and currently is maintained by a staff of 6 volunteers.

Current Archives Projects

 * One of the big areas of focus is to continually add information to our searchable database. It is a database that you can search by surname, given name, title of book, type of document, or what is on a certain shelf in the Archives.  On our webpage there is a key to document type prefixes and a floor plan.
 * Another area that is always being expanded is the scanning of county yearbook Senior pictures. We have over 300 books or group photos available.  You can search by name, year or school.

Events

 * Last June the Society hosted a potluck dinner for the community. Our main speaker was Wayne Summers to discuss the updating of his One Room Schools book.  Photos were brought in to scan to help with this update.  It was an evening of good company and great food.

Society Meetings

 * The Society meets on the first Monday of each month at the First United Methodist Church, 200 E. State St., St. Johns (2nd floor) at 1:00 p.m. from November through March and 7:00 p.m. from April through October unless otherwise notified.  The meetings are open to the public.

Workshops

 * (also include presentations online, on site, or elsewhere about how to do research in your area)

Frequently Asked Questions

 * Q. What are the directions to the society?
 * A. The Archives is located at 16101 Brook Road,  DeWitt Township Community Building,  Lansing, MI  (One block east and one block south of the corner of Old US-27 and State Road.)
 * A. The Paine-Gillam-Scott Museum is located at 106 Maple St., St. Johns, MI


 * Q. What are the society's hours of operation?
 * A. The Archives is open Monday & Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Thursday afternoons from 2 - 6 p.m.
 * A. The Paine-Gillam-Scott Museum is open May through December, Wednesday 2 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. and Sunday 1 p.m. - 4 p.m.

Nearby or Alternate Repositories
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