The Brighton Area Historical Society is your connection to local history. Our goal is to discover and learn about our history because we believe our past is worth preserving. If you share our passion for history, then you are in the right place. The BAHS is focused on the history of the greater Brighton Area and the surrounding townships of Livingston County, Michigan. We also operate the historic Lyon School house which has been fully restored and features an elementary school curriculum. Please take a moment and look around. Your history is here waiting to be discovered.
Up Coming Events and Latest News:
Current CoBACH Exhibit:
“Centennial of GM Proving Ground”
CoBACH Exhibit:
May 8 — Sept. 29
CoBACH Summer Hours
Tuesday—Friday 5—8pm Saturday 11am—5pm
Sunday 2—5pm
Closed Monday
2024 Larry Lawrence Scholarship Awardee!
The Brighton Area Historical Society would like to congratulate Katie Nelson, this year’s awardee of the Larry Lawrence Memorial Scholarship. Katie is a 2024 graduate of Brighton High School and will attend ATP Flight School. For the past nine months she has been working on her Private Pilot’s license. She stated that her role model is her older brother who is a pilot for Spirit Airlines.
Thank you to all those who have donated to the Larry Lawrence Scholarship Fund. Your donations make this scholarship possible and to the Lawrence Family for their continued support.
Again, congratulations Katie!
Scholarship awardees can be viewed here:
Thank You Members for 2023,
Help Needed for 2024!
As 2023 rolls to a close, a hearty thank you is shared with all members and donors! Memberships continue to be steady. Volunteers have been awesome. Donations and memberships need an increase.
The Board of Directors recently was forced to act with the never popular task of raising membership dues. Dues have been held constant for over 20 years. The dues seen on page three reflect these increases. The society has been blessed with increasing membership over this period of time. Likewise, more historical programming has also evolved. Today, we see (15) colorful life size silhouettes sharing Brighton’s history in the downtown; (163) restored headstones now stand tall in the Old Village Cemetery, having been freed from the sod that clutched them toward their broken demise. A recent 2023 award from the Michigan Historic Preservation Network for the outstanding volunteer effort in the Old Village Cemetery restoration is validation to the quality of work and programming provided. The Lyon Schoolhouse has been updated in the classroom and museum room. Displays have been refreshed. The archive room is in the early stages of total revitalization due to the new software that will catalog all collections and identify their specific location. CoBACH Center displays and exhibits showcase multiple aspects of our community and its proud history. We count our blessings with our dedicated and involved volunteers that keep the continuing, informative exhibits, along with archiving and restorations in motion. The awesome deck of downtown historical playing cards required extensive research from the society and significant amounts of time from partner, Denise Murray of the Brighton DDA, who implemented the funding, printing and the free card give-away with the merchants. These complete decks of historical cards will now be sold for a very reasonable $10 a pack, starting in November by the BAHS.
The historical society knows the enjoyment that community members receive in seeing old photos and learning about Brighton’s early days. The Facebook postings from Brighton Area Historical Society have over 4700 followers and is proof to the value and interest in local history.
Annual operational expenses have seen large increases. Monthly newsletter printing and postage rates have seen the same significant upward increase as the rates for the society’s electric and gas utilities. Insurance rates covering both the schoolhouse and CoBACH Center have more than doubled in the last (15) years.
But what has not changed until now is the increase in annual membership dues. The society is so very thankful for the many individuals and businesses that have paid upfront to become lifetime members. These onetime monies funded many capital improvements over the years at the schoolhouse. These improvements in some cases need updating every decade or sooner. What is the current source for these maintenance funds?
This brings us back to the issue of operational expenses. More memberships, increased annual dues, and donations from our friends and lifetime members are needed. Will you please consider an increase in your donation or membership for 2024? Remember all officers and directors receive no salaries or funds of any type for the work we love to share with the community. The Brighton Area Historical Society is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization and your membership dues and donations may be tax deductible.
Thank you for your consideration!
Jim Vichich
BAHS President
info@BrightonAreaHistorical.com
810.250.7276
We are please to announce that you may now purchase or renew a membership and make a donation online! Please go to the Membership/Donation page here:
or BAHS ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL-2024 / Sponsorship form download
*** BRIGHTON AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETY ***
LARRY LAWRENCE MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP
The Larry Lawrence Memorial scholarship will be given yearly to a graduating senior from the Brighton Area that is going to a Vocational School. The scholarship will be for $2000.00 to support the awardee in his or her education.
For more information, please refer to the Larry Lawrence Memorial Scholarship Program by clicking here:
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