April 30, 2009

The Michigan Historical Marker Program reflects the diversity of Michigan's past, and the two markers the Michigan Historical Commission is dedicating in East Lansing and Detroit on Saturday, May 2 reflect that variety.

Beginning at 11:55 a.m., Michigan State University sports fans - particularly baseball enthusiasts - will celebrate 125 years of athletics at the school when they gather to dedicate a new state historical marker for College Field. Now known as Old College Field, the turf has been the site of intercollegiate athletic competition since 1902. Michigan Historical Commissioner Tom Truscott of Lansing will present the marker on behalf of the state of Michigan. In addition, the university will dedicate McLane Stadium, the new home of Spartan baseball.

In 1900 roughly 625 students attended Michigan State Agricultural College (M.A.C.), later Michigan State University. Desiring serious intercollegiate competition, the administration, led by President Jonathon L. Snyder, Ph.D., purchased land along the Red Cedar River for an athletic field. The M.A.C. Record newspaper ultimately described the field as "picturesque as well as secluded."

"When you stand in College Field you imagine that first baseball game between the M.A.C. Aggies and the Michigan Wolverines back in 1902," Michigan Historical Center director Sandra Clark noted. "Despite many changes to the campus, and the fact that new stadiums have been built within the field's boundaries, College Field has remained a venue for intercollegiate athletics for more than a century and maintained a special connection and continuity between student athletes."

Roughly 90 miles east in Detroit, automotive history enthusiasts will assemble at 3 p.m. at the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant, 461 Piquette Ave., to celebrate the installation of its Michigan Historical Marker and the opening of the 2009 tourism season. The Michigan Historical Commission approved the marker in 2004, during the building's centennial year, but it was not installed outside of the plant until now due to ongoing rehabilitation of the building. Michigan Historical Commissioner Samuel Logan of Detroit will dedicate the Piquette Plant marker.

It was at the Piquette Plant that Henry Ford experimented with mass production and aspects of the moving assembly line. Eight different Ford models were produced there, including the Model T. In 1910, Ford moved operations to the more modern Highland Park Assembly Plant, where the automated assembly line was implemented. In 1999 the former factory building was purchased by T-Plex, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and interpreting the factory's history. The building was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 2006 and is now a museum.

"Dr. Jerald Mitchell and all of the T-Plex volunteers deserve much credit - and gratitude - for their dedication and hard work," said State Historic Preservation Officer Brian Conway. "This important historic building, so vital to the interpretation of Michigan's automotive history, would likely have been lost if not for their determination to rehabilitate it and open it to the public."

Sponsors pay for Michigan Historical Markers through donation to the state of Michigan. Since the Michigan Historical Marker program began in 1955, more than 1,500 official historical markers have been erected. Traveling Through Time: A Guide to Michigan's Historical Markers contains the text and location of state markers. It is available anywhere books are sold or by calling (517) 373-1663. To learn more about the marker program and registered historic sites, visit www.michigan.gov/shpo.

The marker program is administered by the State Historic Preservation Office, a division of the Michigan Historical Center, part of the Department of History, Arts and Libraries. Dedicated to enriching quality of life and strengthening the economy by providing access to information, preserving and promoting Michigan's heritage and fostering cultural creativity, the department also includes the Library of Michigan, the Mackinac Island State Park Commission and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs.

Read more press releases from the Department of History, Arts and Libraries (HAL).