OFFSITE TOUR: 220 North Huron Street, Ypsilanti
Enrollment: This tour is limited to 10 attendees. A waitlist will be available.
Please let the Elderwise office know if, after registering, you are unable to attend this tour. This gives students on the waitlist an opportunity to join. It also helps the onsite class assistant.
The Ypsilanti Historical Museum’s collections are housed in a handsome Italianate mansion built in 1860 by banker Asa Dow. The building’s fourteen rooms are filled with 19th century furnishings and artifacts donated by the area’s residents. It features two parlors, a country kitchen, a solarium, and rooms dedicated to crafts, costumes, music, tools, and toys. There is a room celebrating some of Ypsilanti’s more notable past citizens, their industries, and their accomplishments. If time allows, we will descend to the basement for a quick look at the extensive city archives - which include items such as maps, photographs, directories, court records, tax rolls, and obituaries. The museum is operated and maintained by volunteers, most of whom have local connections, as well as by interns from the historic preservation program at Eastern Michigan University. John A. Stewart is a retired software developer with degrees in biology from the University of Michigan. He has served as a volunteer docent at the Ypsilanti Historical Museum for the past 13 years. Driving directions and parking instructions will be emailed to class registrants a few days before the tour.