====== Clare County Historical Society ======

[[https://clarecountyhistory.org|Website]], [[https://www.facebook.com/clarecountyhistory.org|Facebook]]


The Clare County Historical Society (CCHS) is a volunteer-led, non-profit organization dedicated to collecting, preserving, and sharing the unique history of Clare County, Michigan. 

===== Institutional Mission =====
  * **Preservation:** The society actively archives historical documents, photographs, textiles, and physical artifacts that document the transformation of central Michigan.
  * **Education:** CCHS serves the local community, students, and genealogical researchers by maintaining physical museum collections, historical markers, and public educational programming.
  * **Community Stewardship:** Run entirely by volunteers and funded through memberships, donations, and fundraisers, the society manages a centralized historical complex to keep local heritage accessible.

===== Clare County Historical Complex =====
The center of the society's operations is its historical complex, located at the junction of **Eberhart and Dover Roads** (just north of Clare and south of Harrison). The complex features several meticulously restored historic structures:

==== The Main Museum and History Center ====
  * **Artifact Exhibits:** Houses an extensive collection of pioneer tools, household items, domestic textiles, and vintage photographs representing everyday 19th- and 20th-century life in Clare County.
  * **Specialty Collections:** Features dedicated historical displays on the local lumbering era, Spikehorn's bear den, WKKM radio station, and regional military veterans.

==== The Dover One-Room Schoolhouse ====
  * **Historic Preservation:** A fully restored, authentic country schoolhouse originally constructed in the late 1800s to serve rural school children.
  * **The Pioneer Experience:** The interior features original wooden desks, slate blackboards, and turn-of-the-century textbooks, offering a visual window into early Michigan public education.

==== The Ott Family Log Cabin ====
  * **Homestead Architecture:** A genuine pioneer log cabin, disassembled from its original location and reconstructed on the museum grounds.
  * **Living History:** Staged with authentic, non-electric pioneer furniture, iron woodstoves, and cooking implements to demonstrate the rugged conditions faced by Clare County's earliest settlers.

==== The Blacksmith Shop ====
  * **Industrial Trade:** A working replica blacksmith shop featuring an operational forge, bellows, anvils, and vintage ironworking tools.
  * **Live Demonstrations:** Utilized during seasonal festivals to demonstrate the vital metalworking skills that kept early logging camps and agricultural farms operational.

===== Public Events and Operations =====
  * **Seasonal Operations:** The museum complex is traditionally open to the public on a seasonal schedule, typically welcoming visitors on Saturdays from May through September.
  * **Annual Fall Festival:** The society's signature public event, Old Fashion Day, features live historical craft demonstrations, old-fashioned kids' games, educational presentations, and hayrides.
  * **Genealogical Research:** The organization assists families tracing their mid-Michigan ancestry by preserving county directories, regional maps, and cemetery records.

===== Visit =====

Clare County Historical Complex
7050 S Eberhart Ave
Clare, MI 48617

===== Mail =====

CCHS
P.O. Box 723
Harrison, MI 48625

===== Email =====

museum@clarecountyhistory.org

Email messages are automatically forwarded to CCHS members for responses.