Historic Sites

Bridges

Stroll through history on picture-perfect covered bridges:

• Ada Covered Bridge, rebuilt to its 1850s-era glory with the help of Ada's Amway Corporation.
• Fallasburg Covered Bridge, on the National Historic Register and one of only three Michigan covered bridges open to vehicle traffic.
• Bowen Mills Bridge, a scale replica on a 19-acre pioneer village that also houses an 1864 Grist & Cider Mill, a 17-foot Water Wheel, and much more.

Historic Homes

See where and how we lived in times past:

• Heritage Hill Historic District, adjacent to downtown Grand Rapids, includes 1,300 homes dating from 1848; take a self-guided walking tour see more than 60 architectural styles.


The Voigt House



Wright's Meyer May House

• Voight House Victorian Museum is an opulent 1895 home preserved with original furnishings and personal possessions.
• Meyer May House is a dazzling restoration of a 1908 Frank Lloyd Wright prairie-style home.
• Cappon House & Settlers House Museums showcase the "upstairs-downstairs" division of late 1800s life in Holland - one is an Italianate mansion built by a rags-to-riches Dutch immigrant, the other is a simple working-class home.
• Hackley & Hume Historic Site includes two Queen Anne homes built in the 1880s by two of Muskegon's most prominent lumber barons.

Dutch Heritage

Explore the lifestyles of our Dutch ancestors:

• Dekker Huis/Zeeland Historical Museum, in an 1876 home, tells fascinating stories of Dutch settlers and fine furniture-makers.
• Dutch Village is a 10-acre theme park recreating a 19th-century Netherlands village - complete with a towering 25-bell carillon and wooden shoe factory.
• Windmill Island is a 30-acre park featuring a working Dutch windmill, antique carousel, miniature Netherlands village and more.

Lighthouses

Michigan has more lighthouses than any other state, including:

Grand Haven Lighthouse

• Grand Haven Lighthouse is a fire-engine red, 51-foot cylindrical tower on a walkable pier at Grand Haven State Park.
• Holland Harbor Lighthouse, aka "Big Red," is a three-story building with twin gables and diamond-paned windows.
• Muskegon South Pier Lighthouse, built in 1903, is a red tower topped with a parapet and lantern room.

Maritime History

Chart a course for Lake Michigan lore:

• Great Lakes Naval Memorial & Museum features a real WWII submarine, a Prohibition-era Coast Guard cutter and more.
• SS Milwaukee Clipper is a historic 361-foot passenger and package freight steamer restored to her former glory to serve as a museum.
• Keewatin Maritime Museum lets you tour a 1907 coal-burning overnight passenger steamship that sailed the Great Lakes.

Museums

Delve into specific eras, industries and avocations:

• Public Museum of Grand Rapids offers world-class exhibitions on history, nature, cultural heritage, Native Americans and more - stroll a 19th-century Grand Rapids cityscape, ride a 1928 carousel and eat in the cafe overlooking the river.
• Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum pays tribute to the life and times of our 38th president, a Grand Rapids native.
• Engine House No. 5 is an antique fire station displaying 19th-century firefighting equipment.
• Coopersville Farm Museum focuses on rural, agricultural and farm life.
• Coopersville Historical Museum, a former train depot, features railroad memorabilia, a century-old sawmill, and more.
• Tri-Cities Historical Museum in downtown Grand Haven occupies the former Grand Trunk railroad depot built in 1870.
• Holland Museum offers a crash course in lakeshore history from the arrival of Dutch settlers in 1847.
• Gilmore Car Museum displays more than 175 antique, classic and collector cars in a rural country setting.
• Saugatuck/Douglas Historical Society Museum, housed in an old pump house at the foot of Mount Baldhead, showcases the unique character of these two resort villages.
• Fire Barn Museum, a replica of an 1890s fire station, salutes the heroic tradition of firefighting.
• Muskegon County Museum preserves the history of Muskegon County with collections of Native American artifacts, household items, toys and games, animals, shells, rocks and minerals.