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--- organization:cchs [2026/08/25 17:46] – created admin
+++ organization:cchs [2026/08/25 20:50] (current) – [Public Events and Operations] admin
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 [[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+  * **Preservation:** The society actively archives historical documents, photographs, textiles, and physical artifacts that document the transformation of central Michigan.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 =====