Local History

Other LH Resources

A variety of useful and interesting local history resources and links are located on this page. All of these materials are also part of our Local History Online database. You can find them by following links in the categories below, or by keyword searching in the database.

Digitized Books and Publications

Selected full-text, keyword-searchable digitized books and publications on a wide range of local history topics. Click the arrow to expand each subject area and link to relevant resources.

Lansing Playgrounds 1915 cover.jpg Lansings Jewish Community The Beginnings_cover.jpg Duplex Trucks_cover.jpg 1933 Lansing Phone Book cover.jpg

Revised Rules for the Government of the Common Council of the City of Lansing (1864)

Lansing Daily Republican Newspaper (July-August 1872)

Lansing Illustrated (1889)

Lansing As It Is Past & Present: A History and Description of the City, Its Prospects, Etc., Illustrated (1890)

Lansing Journal: 20th Century Edition (1902)

Lansing Flood Scenes (1904)

Seventh Annual Convention of the Retail Grocers' and General Merchants' Association of Michigan (1905)

Greater Lansing 1859-1906

Lansing Voter Registration Ledger, 3rd Ward, 1st Precinct (1907)

Lansing: Michigan's Commercial Center (1913)

Pictorial Souvenir of the Police and Fire Departments, Lansing, Michigan (1913)

The Lansing Plan (1922)

Social and Welfare Work in Lansing, Michigan (1927)

Lansing and Its Yesterdays: A Collection of Historical Material from the 75th Anniversary Edition of the State Journal (1930)

A Report on the Comprehensive City Plan, Lansing, Michigan (1938)

The Lansing Region and Its Tributary Town-Country Communities: A Study of 88 Townships and 52 Communities Tributary to Lansing (1939)

Pulpit and Prayer in Earliest Lansing (1959)

Lansing Central Business District Study (1960)

Ideas Have Consequences: 125 Years of the Liberal Tradition in Lansing (1973)

Plan for Development of Lansing's Waterfront (1974)

The Lamp Road: A History of the Lansing, Alma, Mt. Pleasant, and Northern Railroad (1974)

Hallmarks in Black Achievement (1975)

Lansing's Jewish Community: The Beginnings (1976)

M-43 / Grand River Avenue, East Lansing, Michigan: The Lansing and Howell Plank Road, A Data Recovery Effort (1977)

Old Lansing Town (1980)

Potter Park Neighborhood Opinion Survey (1983)

Central Lansing Comprehensive Plan (1999)

Lansing High School Alumni Roster 1873-1918

Supplementary Material to Accompany the Outline for Third Grade Geography for the Public Schools of Lansing, Michigan (1924)

Your Schools in Lansing, Michigan (1938)

Schools and the Lansing Community (1956)

Lansing School District: A History, 1967-1968

Record of Deeds: Land Transactions of the Lansing School District, 1843-1979

In Their Names...Biographies of Lansing School District Buildings (1986)

Stockbridge Area 125th Anniversary (1960)

Webberville Yesterday and Today (1970)

Webberville Area Centennial 1871-1971

Reports of the Meridian Township Historic District Study Committee (1972-1975; 3 volumes)

Chief Okemos of the Chippewa (1976)

A Corner of Ingham: Stockbridge (1975)

Village of Dansville Comprehensive Development Plan (1977)

How Okemos Began: A Short History (3rd ed., 1980)

Dansville Then and Now (1984)

Stockbridge Sesquicentennial, 1835-1985

Vevay Township Celebrates 150 Years (1988)

How Okemos Began: A Short History (5th ed., 1992)

Unlocking Locke (1997)

There's No Place, Like This Place, Any Place: Stockbridge, Michigan's 175th Anniversary (2010)

Jerry Lawler History Research Materials

Lawler Capitol Dome color.jpg Jerry Lawler, a long-time employee in the Michigan State Capitol and a dedicated history researcher, compiled historical timelines and files on many topics relevant to local history research. The originals were saved on now-obsolete computer systems, and require extensive conversion and clean-up. As each new set of files is complete, we will be posting them here.

At left is a photograph of Jerry Lawler and an unidentified colleague, on top of the Michigan state capitol dome.

Jerry Lawler History Files

This record contains links to history files on the following subjects:
- Ingham County Place Names
- Descriptions of Early Lansing
- Accommodations in Lansing, 1848
- Lansing's First Landowners
- Early Lansing Residents
- Lansing Hotels
- John W. Burchard
- Chronology of Lansing's East Side
- Who Was Lansing Township Named For?
Note: All files are in PDF format.

Local History

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Forest Parke Library & Archives is on Facebook (@CADL Local History), Twitter (@CADL_LocalHist), and Instagram (@cadl.localhistory). We also have a Local History video playlist on the CADL YouTube channel. Follow us!

Contact Us

For local history inquiries contact the Forest Parke Library & Archives at:

517-367-6313 or localhistory@cadl.org

Upcoming History Events

Learn the Chinese Yo-Yo (All Ages)

Sunday Apr 28, 2024 2:30pm - 3:30pm Okemos Come to the library monthly to learn about the history of the Chinese Yo-Yo and how its traditional use can provide entertainment and help you develop better hand-eye coordination. Read More

"Mackinac Island's Grand Hotel" with Mike Fornes (All ages)

Tuesday Apr 30, 2024 1:00pm - 2:00pm Okemos Join us as author Mike Fornes discusses his book, "Mackinac Island's Grand Hotel." He'll take you up the red carpeted steps, through the doors, back to the past and behind the scenes of the historic Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. Read More

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Local History

Other LH Resources

Digitized Books and Publications

Jerry Lawler History Research Materials

Local History

Find us on Social Media

Contact Us

Upcoming History Events

Learn the Chinese Yo-Yo (All Ages)

"Mackinac Island's Grand Hotel" with Mike Fornes (All ages)

Financial Literacy Month

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