1038 W Main Street

Midland, Midland County

Designation and Designation Date

• National Historic Landmark, listed May 11, 1976
• National Register, listed May 11, 1976

Associated Person(s)

• Herbert H. Dow

Significant Date(s), Notes

• 1899
• 1930, date of Dow's death

Significance Statement

 There have been instances in the history of science in America when a scientific breakthrough or discovery has led to the creation of whole new industries. John W. Hyatt and celluloid, Leo Baekeland and his bakelite, Edward G. Acheson with carborundum, Wallace Carothers and nylon, and C. M. Hall and aluminum are examples of men and their discoveries leading to new industrial endeavors. Herbert H. Dow, chemist and father of the Dow Chemical Company, is a member of this elite group. His discovery of a highly efficient way to separate bromine from raw brine around 1890 led to the creation of a company which today is one of the giants of the chemical industry.

For information about any of the programs described on this site, write the Michigan State Historic Preservation Office, Michigan Historical Center, P.O. Box 30740, 702 W. Kalamazoo St., Lansing, MI 48909-8240, or call us at (517) 373-1630.

Visit the Dow Gardens Web site for more information.

(Photographs courtesy of the Alden B. Dow Archives.)