George Washington honored with museum open house
Washington Township is honoring a Founding Father and its own namesake beyond President’s Day, as the Washington Historical Museum will be open for free tours on Feb. 25.
Washington Area Historical Society President Sebastian Previti is also the Washington Township supervisor.
“We have held the open house for George Washington’s birthday since 1975, annually on the Sunday nearest Feb. 22, Washington’s Birthday, with cake, desserts and appetizers to celebrate, with a life-size cutout of George Washington to commemorate it,” Previti said.
The Washington Area Historical Society will host the open house at the museum from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Patrons can take self-guided museum tours, and view the artwork of 27 finalists of the 13th annual Ron Gordon Memorial George Washington Art Contest. The museum is located at 58230 Van Dyke Avenue in Washington Township.
“The artwork will be on display Sunday, Feb. 25 from 1 to 4 p.m. throughout the museum for self-guided tours, on display on tripods, and following that will be on display daily at the Washington Township Municipal Hall for two weeks,” Previti said.
The museum building is a piece of history itself, built in 1916 as a high school. The school was in service until 1972 before becoming a museum in 1975. Previti said that the museum is located on the Washington Elementary School property, and is owned by Romeo Community Schools. The society rents the building from the school district for $1 per year, and maintains it with shared costs from donors.
“The two story school maintains the rural charm, built back in 1916, with its rich wooden staircase, windows are preserved to original glass, a lot of the original classroom aesthetics from chalkboards, displays, bring back the charm from the early 19th century,” Previti said.
The museum features a Freedom
Shrine with over 30 photographic reproductions of historic documents, and it also has a display on George Washington. Washington Area Historical Society Treasurer Jim Holcomb said that patrons of the Feb. 25 open house can take selfies with a George Washington cardboard cutout standup.
“We house artifacts from different genres dating back to 1800s early settlers of Washington Township to modern day items, along with housing the largest Boy Scout museum in the U.S.A.,” Previti said. “Also, various artifacts from all U.S.A. related wars and appliances from different eras.”
The John Dyer-Hurdon Boy Scout Museum section of the Washington Historical Museum contains over 2,000 historical items pertaining to the Boy Scouts. It also contains a flag for 9/11, listing the names of all those who died on that day, which was framed as an Eagle Scout project. Local Boy Scouts have completed several Eagle Scout projects at the museum.
Exhibits from the surrounding
area, farming tools, a printing press, and displays of items from the Civil War, World War I, World War II and Desert Storm are also available for viewing at the museum. An extensive collection of genealogical information is available at the museum also.
“We have got a 1930s kitchen, which has a variety of items that you probably don’t see anymore,” Holcomb said.
Several students at nearby Washington Elementary School were invited to participate in the art contest, which had a George Washington portrait theme.
There are nine classes competing from grades 3, 4 and 5, three classes from each grade with three winners from each class selected by judges to make up the 27 finalists.
“Once the 27 finalists are chosen, then public input will be given at the open house to help narrow the field down to three finalists, one from each grade,” Previti said.
Holcomb said that winners will be announced at a school
assembly on Feb. 27.
“Then we invite the 27 finalists over for a pizza lunch at the museum,” Holcomb said.
After lunch the students take tours of the museum, according to Holcomb.
“One of their favorite items that they like to see, that they are interested in, are the typewriters. And I guess it’s the basic idea, you push a key and get a letter on a piece of paper,” Holcomb said.
After the tour students assemble back in the museum’s main room, and receive gift bags as well as documents to show they participated in the art contest. Top winners are then also awarded gift cards at this time, Holcomb said.
The nonprofit Greater Washington Area Historical Society was organized in 1975. The Washington Historical Museum is generally open to the public from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on the second and fourth Sundays of the month from June through November. Previti said the society converted the outdated and large boiler system on the
building five years ago, obtaining a new energy efficient furnace that also allowed for more space.
Holcomb said that one major project that the society has been undertaking is fundraising to replace the museum’s roof. The public can donate to the project by sending a check to the Greater Washington Area Historical Society, P.O. Box 94144 Washington, MI, 48094.
“We are currently raising funds for a new roof, through golf outings and grants, which will cost over $85,000 due to asbestos removal,” Previti said. “Funds are nearly complete on this, and the next item to update is the electrical in the building, to update it for both safety and efficiency.”
Several lights were recently restored and fabricated for the museum through donations of resident Joe Brewer, owner of Metro Electric, Previti added.
“Once the roof is complete, we will work with Metro Electric for a major overhaul on other electrical upgrades,” he said.