The History Press [New Releases]

Recovering the past of Furniture City

More than two centuries of overlooked history flow through Grand Rapids like the river for which it is named. The first city surveyor dabbled in seances while platting out neighborhoods and streets. When a river dredging project left a mountain of stone tormenting residents, the ordeal pitted them against city leaders. Humane society agents uncovered horrendous conditions at the city pound and successfully brought about reform and much better conditions for the animals.

Grand Rapids native and city archivist Matthew A. Ellis delves into the layout of streets, the manufacture of materials used to build the city, local food trends, and more.

Throughout its existence, Dearborn has been a pioneer settlement, a multicultural hub, a college town, a major tourism center and a world-renowned industrial city.

Unfortunately, due to a variety of factors, significant structures have been lost to time. Almost all of the eleven U.S. Arsenal complex buildings have disappeared since the arsenal was closed in 1875. The hallways of the Edison School and Oxford School still live on in the hearts of their students but were razed long ago. Even beloved edifices such as the Ford Rotunda and the Ford Motor Company Administration building are now only a memory. Author Craig E. Hutchison endeavors to immortalize the important foundational building blocks of an evolving city.

Discover the haunted history of Grand Rapids, Michigan, complete with ghostly hotel guests, urban legends, and true stories of Grand Rapids spine-chilling past.

Come nose around in the creepier corners of the Grand Rapids of yesteryear. Discover why Hell's Bridge persists as such an oft-told urban legend and what horrific history earned Heritage Hill the title of Michigan's most haunted neighborhood. Mingle with the spooky inhabitants of the Phillips Mansion, Holmdene Manor, San Chez Restaurant and St. Cecilia Music Center. Meet the guests who never quite checked out of the Amway Grand. Read the true stories behind the Michigan Bell Building and the Ada Witch Legend. Nicole Bray, Robert Du Shane and Julie Rathsack illuminate the shadows of local sites you thought you knew.

Fortresses of the Frontier

Michigan’s military forts shaped the Great Lakes frontier as European and then American settlers and explorers moved westward. When La Salle’s crew reached the mouth of the St. Joseph River, they built Fort Miami, the first European military post on Michigan soil. Following a humiliating betrayal, Chief Pontiac laid vengeful siege to Fort Detroit for five months, during which he let neither supplies nor man pass through the siege lines intact. Stationed at Fort Gratiot, a young Lieutenant Robert E. Lee had a sweet tooth that forced him to hide in a closet to avoid a local baker demanding Lee pay his past-due bill. A mosquito helped to force the closing of Fort Saginaw.

Author and Michigan native David Wedge recovers the stories of these forgotten guardians.

Haunted Bay City, Michigan takes you on a bone-chilling journey through the city’s most haunted locales.

At the base of the Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron lies historic Bay City, a gorgeous town with a dark past. In its early days, a six-block strip known as Hell’s Half Mile was an epicenter of debauchery and brutality. This tumultuous history has left a deep paranormal imprint on the area. A sinister Victorian lady terrorizes those who visit the upper level of the Bay City Antiques Center. The ghost of a disfigured little girl roams Sage Library. And the former caretaker of the USS Edson lovingly tends the ship after death as he did in life. Join local author and paranormal investigator Nicole Beauchamp as she mines the history of Bay City’s infamous haunts.

Wild Women of Michigan commemorates the women of this state who boldly left their marks.

Countless Michiganian women performed extraordinary acts that challenged and improved the world. Madame Marie-Therese Cadillac served as the medicine woman in the frontier that became Detroit. Annie Taylor survived rolling over Niagara Falls in a barrel. After suffragist Anna Howard Shaw fought to vote, the state saw an influx of women running for office. In the 1970s, East Lansing's Patricia Beeman aided in efforts to end apartheid in South Africa. Suellen Finatri showcased an extreme side of equestrian sports by riding more than four thousand miles from St. Ignace to Skagway, Alaska. And World War II army flight nurse Aleda Lutz evacuated more than 3,500 wounded soldiers and is still recognized as one of America's most decorated servicewomen. Author and historian Norma Lewis commemorates the women who boldly left their marks.

In this startlingly spooky collection of tales, the haunted history of Kalamazoo is revealed.

Kalamazoo's violent and often anguished history has given way to myriad ghostly tales surrounding some of the town's most prominent places. From the tortured souls roaming the Asylum Lake Preserve to the infamous suicide of the amateur actress Thelma, who reputedly haunts the Civic Auditorium to this day, it is no small wonder that the town is filled with apparitions longing to make their stories and their presence known. In this startlingly spooky collection of tales, ghost hunters Bray and DuShane gather stories from legend, lore and residents alike that bring new meaning to the age-old adage seeing is believing.

Join department store historian Bruce Allen Kopytek in this history of Jacobson's, a beloved Michigan institution for over 100 years. Winner of the Michigan Notable Book Award for 2012.

Reenter the marvelous stores and meet the personalities who transformed Jacobson's from its humble Reed City origins to a staple of sophistication throughout Michigan and into the rest of the country. The brainchild of a retail genius, this deluxe specialty store gave customers a peerless social, shopping and dining destination. Experience anew the refined beauty of its Williamsburg-style Grosse Pointe store, the chic designer world of its Birmingham ensemble, or the charm and allure of its original Florida branch in Sarasota, revealing the secrets which made Jake's the dazzling store it was, and why it remains so profoundly missed by anyone who entered through its solid wooden doors.

Investigate the mysteries surrounding the horrifying murder of Battle Creek’s Daisy Zick. A must-read for fans of true crime and Michigan history enthusiasts.

On a bitterly cold morning in January 1963, Daisy Zick was brutally murdered in her Battle Creek home. No fewer than three witnesses caught a glimpse of the killer, yet today, it remains one of Michigan's most sensational unsolved crimes.

The act of pure savagery rocked not only the community but also the Kellogg Company, where she worked. Here, Blaine Pardoe artfully takes the reader into this true crime thriller. Utilizing long-sealed police files and interviews with the surviving investigators, the true story of the investigation can finally be told.

Who were the key suspects? What evidence does the police still have on this five-decades-old cold case? Just how close did this murder come to being solved? Is the killer still alive? These questions and more are masterfully brought to the forefront for true crime fans and armchair detectives.

Lincoln Park has seen many things come and go.

Originally home to the Wyandot and Potawatomi tribes, the area also served Odawa Chief Pontiac for a historic Native American council meeting. European ribbon farms once stretched from Fort Pontchartrain. By the early twentieth century, rapid growth had transformed Lincoln Park into the “Crossroads of Downriver.” Many of the early building blocks and, indeed, the way the land itself was used by the earliest inhabitants have been lost to time. LeBlanc’s Saloon & Store, the Atlantic & Pacific Grocery Store and Lincoln Park Pharmacy are gone. So are Mother’s and Clemente’s, the Sears Shopping Center and many churches, schools and local attractions.

Utilizing resources from the Lincoln Park Historical Museum and Society, author Craig Hutchison strives to tell and preserve these stories.

Over the centuries, residents of Michiana have never wanted for superb dining choices. /

Once a stagecoach stop, The Old Tavern Inn has been open since the time of President Andrew Jackson. Tosi’s is known for its gorgeous starlit garden and gastronomic traditions stretching back almost a century, and The Volcano was amongst the first pizzerias in the country. These restaurants and other classic eateries remain part of the thriving local food scene. But the doors of others have long been closed. Some like Mead’s Chicken Nook and Robertson’s Tea Room linger in memories while The Owl Saloon, O. A. Clark’s Lunch Rooms, and Lobster Lounge are long lost to time./

Award-winning author Jane Simon Ammeson leads a culinary road trip through Northern Indiana and Southwestern Michigan.

Author Tobin T. Buhk recounts the thrilling tales of Detroit's most violent, clever and misunderstood female criminals.

Queen of the Underworld Sophie Lyons faced off with detective Teresa Lewis in court three times, and twice in the street, rendering both women battered and bloodied. Nellie Pope goaded her lover to axe her husband in what the press called one of the most atrocious, cold-blooded, and deliberately-planned murders in city history. Mother Elinor L. Mason, High Priestess of the Flying Roller Colony, was no holy roller but a criminal chameleon who changed personas as easily as some people change clothes. And a feud between Delray madams Julia Toth and Annie Smith exposed widespread graft in the thriving red-light industry and led to one of the worst police scandals in Motor City history. These stories and more await in this deliciously entertaining collection.

Experience the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of Hamtramck’s past

In the twentieth century, Hamtramck rapidly transformed from a gentle farming village into an industrial city. The large field at the south side of town developed into the Dodge Brothers auto plant, which became one of the biggest factories in the world. Virtually overnight, the sounds of farm animals gave way to the clanging of giant steel presses, and boards being hammered into new homes broke the silence of the countryside. The change was so dramatic and swift that it left town officials scrambling to cope and even drew national attention.

Tracking these changes and others decade by decade, author Greg Kowalski brings this story to life in extreme detail.

Dare to explore the Heart of Michigan as you’ve never seen it before.

In its small towns and regional hubs, Mid-Michigan contains chilling paranormal histories that have long remained hidden. Mannequin-like apparitions stroll past students in the halls of Grand Blanc High School’s East Campus, one of several Mid-Michigan educational institutions said to harbor hauntings. At Clare’s Doherty Hotel, the restless ghosts of gangsters and their victims terrorize unwary guests. Predators become prey at the Bengel Wildlife Center in Bath Township, and glowing-eyed figures stalk Curwood Castle in Owosso after dark.

World-renowned paranormal researcher, author, and Bay City native Nicole Beauchamp draws on firsthand investigations, local legends, and archival research to reveal the spirits that still linger in the shadows of local landmarks.

Meet the New England revolutionary Patriots who became Michigan pioneers.

The counties of South Central Michigan are the resting place of more than forty Revolutionary War Patriots. These men fought pivotal battles like Ticonderoga, Princeton, Bennington, Saratoga, and Yorktown, and when the fighting was done, they pioneered through western New York and across the Ohio Valley before claiming Michigan as their final home. Moses Cook of Massachusetts fought in some of the most lethal battles of the Revolution and endured a deadly winter in Valley Forge. Massachusetts native Lothario Danielson helped to squash a homegrown rebellion and authored a report on meningitis. Only one month after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Connecticut native William Maples was inspired to join the Connecticut militia. 

Exploring the lives of these men before and after the war, local authors David Van Hoof and Linda Hass tell the stories of these unsung heroes of the indomitable American spirit.

The state of Michigan is home to Great Lakes and greater mysteries.

What made Paige Renkoski abandon her running car on the side of the freeway in broad daylight? Who murdered Eddie Hollman while he slept at his parents’ home? Greg McRoberts died in a hit-and-run accident. Will a mysterious letter writer with knowledge of the crime ever come forward? Ten-year-old Valerie Bishop was murdered after visiting the corner store. Could untested evidence reveal the identity of her killer? Why did Connie Royce walk away from a busy nightclub never to be seen again?

Nina Innsted, host of the Already Gone podcast, leads a journey through the missing, the mysterious, and the unsolved in a quest for answers and justice.

Listen to the stories of the restless dead

Amidst the sparkling lakes and rolling hills of Northern Michigan lies Newaygo County. The towns nestled within her borders were founded by hardy pioneers, and while their spirit lies in a sense of community, it is said that a few ghostly spirits also haunt the area. Atop a tree-covered hill sits a long-abandoned house, where the spine-tingling cries of the ghost of Screaming Ethel can be heard. The strains of unearthly piano music emanated through the rooms of a 1920s era mansion once belonging to Al Capone’s lawyer. The wraithlike spirit of a little boy is seen walking precariously along a river dam.

Join author Marie Helena Cisneros as she weaves the area’s vibrant history together into some of Newaygo County’s most chilling tales.

Grand Rapids history is crowded with departed souls who refuse to rest in peace.

The twisted spirit of Lolita, a mother who committed unspeakable acts upon her children, stalks the block where she grew up. In life, Frank Hibben Stout’s obsession with his “sister” led to a tragic end for both. In death, his blood-dripping apparition is seen where a local restaurant now stands. The protective spirit of Edythe first appeared after a fateful Ouija board game at a local church, and the Children’s Museum is haunted by the friendly spirit of a boy seen by the young and old alike.

Come walk with the dead as author Julie Rathsack weaves together the threads of the forgotten past with the spirits who have remained behind.

Michigan's beer history is as diverse as the breweries themselves, and the stories behind them are as fascinating as their tasty concoctions.

A few enterprising women found themselves at the forefront of early brewing in the state, and several early Detroit brewers also served as mayor. Pfeiffer's mascot was designed by Walt Disney Studios. Jackson's Eberle Brewing Company took its fight against local prohibition all the way to the Supreme Court, and the Silver Foam trademark embroiled disputants in a different legal fight. Renowned modern craft brewers grew from humble beginnings, often staving off financial disaster, to establish themselves as local, or even national, juggernauts.

Grab your favorite brew and join author Patti F. Smith for a look at Michigan's distant brewing past and its recent triumphs.

Savor the taste of wines inspired by the Great Lakes as enthusiasts Lorri Hathaway and Sharon Kegerreis introduce passionate winemakers like Joseph Sterling, who ignited Michigan's first viable wine region in the 1800s along Lake Erie.

Discover how the Detroit River was used for bootlegging during Prohibition, how the raid on red wine in the Upper Peninsula generated national headlines and how Michigan became the first to repeal. Learn about the wineries that boosted production to make Michigan a leading wine producer through the 1960s, when the changing marketplace caused a slump in production and sales.Since then, new grape varietals have spurred resurgence in the industry, garnering Michigan worldwide attention for its locally influenced wines. Discover Michigan's vibrant wine history, which is vital to the second most agriculturally diverse state and top tourism region becoming a premier agritourism destination.

The founder of Demented Mitten Tours shares chilling supernatural tales from the history of Michigan’s capital.

Hastily dubbed the new capital in 1847, Lansing overcame derision and setbacks to become a booming metropolis. Yet its rich history hides chilling legends…

Bertie Clippinger plays tricks on the unwary at the Capitol Building, where the teen accidentally fell to his death when a game went horribly wrong. One of Lansing's founding families keeps a spectral vigil over its homestead, the Turner Dodge House. Malevolent spirits stalk the derelict Michigan School for the Blind. A witch's vengeful curse follows those who trespass on Seven Gables Road, one of the state's most haunted stretches.

Founder of Demented Mitten Tours and local author Jenn Carpenter leads readers to the dark side of the Capital City.

Join author Tim Younkman for a wild ride into Bay City’s wicked side.

From unscrupulous lumber barons to Hell's Half Mile, Bay City history casts a sinister shadow. Pope Leo XIII was forced to intervene when rioting Catholic immigrants seized St. Stanislaus Catholic Church and battled one another in the city's streets. The police discovered prostitute Lou Hall nearly beaten to death in the Block of Blazes. And respected publishing mogul Edwin T. Bennett's secret life led to the death of a young woman in a Bay City hotel room.

From the author of Murder in Victorian Western Michigan and Victorian Southwest Michigan True Crime comes more thrilling stories from the Wolverine State's past.

As the Michigan Central Railroad company became a juggernaut, the nineteenth-century rail line also devolved into a bastion for crime as morality was often set aside for profit. In 1850, a grand jury indicted fifty men in Jackson County for conspiracy to commit arson after a freight depot in Detroit was set ablaze. When two Grand Trunk locomotives collided in Battle Creek in 1893 killing twenty-seven people, a conductor and an engineer each accused the other, avoiding conviction. A Mineral Ridge train robbery of $70,000 in payroll money destined for miners on the Keweenaw Peninsula was exposed by a former railroad worker involved in the heist, allowing him to escape prosecution and sending four others to prison.

Author Michael Delaware unfolds dark stories of corruption and crime from Michigan’s Victorian age.

Lovers of Grand Rapids history and the paranormal will thrill to this spine-tingling tour of homes.

You’ve walked by them. You’ve driven past them. Behind the innocent façades of houses dotting the streets of Grand Rapids are secrets...and ghosts.

In Heritage Hill, a Victorian woman wanders hallways at night, and a house-proud handyman hides the tools of anyone trying to alter his home. On the northwest side, a child’s shadow runs the halls, mocking the family who lives there. Across the river, a red-eyed entity follows homeowners, and some unknown force tears a decorative sign from its hooks and hurls it across the room. Civil War soldiers give a child a coin from 1889. A homeowner is dragged by her ankles, and faces are seen in the television.

Follow Julie Bonner Williams through the doorways and down the halls of Grand Rapids' most haunted houses.

For more than 200 years, Great Lakes shipyards have bolstered America's and Canada’s commercial and naval power.

Vessels like the Edmund Fitzgerald, the Niagara, and Walk-in-the-Water are now the stuff of legend, but lesser-known ships also have their stories to tell. Cargo-carrying schooners, such as Moonlight and Minnedosa, got faster and bigger over the years, helping them hold their own against the emerging steamships, while the revolutionary design of the R.J. Hackett set the standard for lake freighters for years. Of course, the Great Lakes have often exacted a heavy toll, as demonstrated by the mysterious disappearance of the Griffon and the harrowing sinking of Pere Marquette 18.

Highlighting vessels from the colonial era down to modern times, historian Glenn A. Knoblock explores the maritime heritage of America and Canada.

Go behind bars in the Wolverine State.

Almost every Michigan county had a jail, and if those walls could talk, they would speak of colorful sheriffs, vigilant turnkeys, and the motley population of prisoners housed in these county-run inns. St. Joseph County's “big house on the hill” nabbed headlines as the jail that held alleged Capone triggerman Fred “Killer” Burke, known as the most dangerous man alive at the time. Teenage robber Ray Rusch slipped away from the Genesee County Jail using a handful of pepper, and Ingham County Jail suffered from numerous infamous escapes in its day. Illegal hangings perpetrated by bloodthirsty mobs stained the pages of local history in Menominee, St. Clair, Shiawassee, and numerous other counties.

Author and crime historian Tobin T. Buhk leads an unforgettable tour of Michigan’s historic jails.

The state of Michigan is home to Great Lakes and greater mysteries.

What made Paige Renkoski abandon her running car on the side of the freeway in broad daylight? Who murdered Eddie Hollman while he slept at his parents’ home? Greg McRoberts died in a hit-and-run accident. Will a mysterious letter writer with knowledge of the crime ever come forward? Ten-year-old Valerie Bishop was murdered after visiting the corner store. Could untested evidence reveal the identity of her killer? Why did Connie Royce walk away from a busy nightclub never to be seen again?

Nina Innsted, host of the Already Gone podcast, leads a journey through the missing, the mysterious, and the unsolved in a quest for answers and justice.

The murders that shocked Michigan

In the early morning of Tuesday, August 11, 1931, a Washtenaw County farmer found the smoldering remains of a car. Inside were the bodies of four teens, burned almost beyond recognition. Police immediately began an investigation, even tapping Harry Bennett, head of the Ford Motor Company Service Department, for assistance. Three killers stood trial two days later as a mob gathered outside the Ann Arbor Courthouse clamoring for a lynching. With the mob held back by the Michigan National Guard, Bennett delivered the killers to Jackson Prison by midnight Thursday. At the time, the so-called Torch Murders were deemed the most gruesome act of homicide in Michigan’s history—and perhaps the nation’s.

Peeling away myth from truth, author James Mann tells the story in full for the first time ever.

Local Luminaries, Famous Passersby & Everyone in Between

Since its founding in the early 1800s, Kalamazoo has welcomed a variety of notable characters who have shaped the community’s legacy in their own special way. Some, like Orville Gibson and Derek Jeter, are nationally recognized, while others, such as Sue Hubbell or Donald Bonevich, may be lesser known. Abraham Lincoln and Flora Temple briefly passed through town, and Mary Jackson and Gwen Frostic were among those who came here to attend college. Others, like Darwin and Opal Brown (aka Santa and Mrs. Claus) or Gene Rhodes (aka Gene the Pumpkin Man), were lifetime residents.

From founding fathers to early innovators, groundbreakers to entrepreneurs, artists to authors and athletes to entertainers, author Dianna Higgs Stampfler celebrates fifty figures in Kalamazoo-area history.