Empire Museum wins Historical Society of Michigan Award
From staff reports
The Empire Area Heritage Group, steered by local history guru Dave Taghon, won a State History Award late last month from the Historical Society of Michigan at the 138th Annual Meeting and State History Conference in Monroe, Michigan. The State History Awards are the highest recognition presented by the state’s official historical society.
The Empire Area Heritage Group received the State History Award in the Local Society category. Founded in 1972, the society began as a one-room display featuring memorabilia pertaining to the Empire area’s past. Since then, the museum has evolved to include four restored buildings, a main museum, schoolhouse, Beeman Barn and fire-hose house. These buildings house several historical photographs and artifacts, and are overseen and interpreted by volunteers. The society’s docent program currently includes 67 trained members.
In 1995, the heritage group took a leading role in celebrating the Empire Village Centennial. This involved many special programs and projects, including the publication of a replica of the 1895 village newspaper, The Empire Village Leader – Journal. Another program involved a building recognition program targeting all homes and business structures constructed in 1895 or earlier. This involved research and the placement of plaques. Ongoing activities include regular programming and an impressive array of publications and DVDs. This is especially ambitious when one learns that village of Empire has about 400 residents.
