Researching at the Mitchell
The old house at 22 North Manning St. has had three careers: first as a home, next as a library and now as a research center.
Built by Charles and Harriet Wing Mitchell in 1868, it served as a monument to the importance of Mr. Mitchell in Hillsdale. He arrived from New York State in 1838, working for three years with the construction of the Michigan Southern Railroad from Adrian to Hillsdale. With the advantage of his strong work ethic and the confidence to have input into what the frontier could become, Charles moved to Hillsdale permanently in 1843. He established a warehouse and a hardware store and soon moved up the ladder of success to banking and land speculation in Cadillac, where he did well selling lumber from the vast forests.
According to custom, the house belonged to Charles. On his death in 1898, his Will established a life lease for his wife, Harriet, who lived eight years longer. Following her death, a two year renovation was begun, using $10,000 in securities also gifted to cover the expenses. The surviving Mitchell children, William of Cadillac, and Mrs. Harriett Mitchell Sawyer, who lived next door, donated additional funds. In 1908 the Mitchell Public Library opened with a special smoking and reading room for men on the first floor, a space for women’s clubs and musical recitals on the second floor (which later became a children’s library room) and a third floor available for rent for parties and get-togethers. In a small room off the hallway on the second floor the Friends of Mitchell Research Center stored historical and genealogical material.
Today that material has expanded to fill the entire building. What began as a home for Charles and Harriet Wing Mitchell became, in 2003, a home for priceless memories in Hillsdale County. People from all over the United States, and some from other countries, utilize the vast resources collected by the Friends. The Mitchell Research Center is run entirely by dedicated volunteers, of which more are always welcomed and needed.
Through the years volunteers added newspaper accounts of births, deaths, marriages and events to the card files. For people doing genealogical research the place to begin is with the card files, which will eventually be digitized.
Volunteers created extensive files for newspaper accounts of families and events.
The Mitchell is using technology to make Hillsdale County history available to the public. The Hillsdale Daily News, the Hillsdale College Collegian, the Pittsford Recorder and the Reading Hustler are being digitized and will be available first at the Mitchell and eventually through the Mitchell Research Center website. There is a plethora of pictures—of families, buildings, documents and special occasions—that are also being digitized.
For researchers, an absolute treasure is the collection of city and county Directories. Each begins with a history of some of the things that happened that year with the dates the event happened! Using the microfiche collection, the event’s date can be used to find an article in the newspapers that described it. Microfiche spools cover county newspapers back to the 1840s.
A small room off the second floor hallway originally housed the entire historical and genealogical collections of Hillsdale County. It now contains some original abstracts, deed books and property information cards from the beginning of Hillsdale County. They were rescued by Hillsdale City workers when the Wolverine Title and Abstract Company was sold to new owners.
The Pulver Room houses non-fiction books, magazines and ephemera of Michigan donated by John Pulver.
Conflicts from the War of 1812 are represented. A complete list of Civil War soldiers is organized by Infantry and Company. Books on the wars in which Hillsdale County citizens have fought are included.
The old library stacks hold a vast array of historical information. In addition to military veterans, notebooks of newspaper clippings focus on a myriad of subjects including townships, towns and cemetery records. Yearbooks from county high schools and the college are available. Information about other counties in Michigan are also available.
The Mitchell Research Center is a treasure for the serious researcher of Hillsdale County!