The Birmingham Museum

05/30/2026

On this date in 1922, the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC was dedicated. A memorial to President Abraham Lincoln had been discussed since shortly after his assassination in 1865, but came to fruition in 1910, when a commission was formed to decide on the design and location.

What was going on in Birmingham in 1922? Homer Gaskell, Birmingham's first police chief, uncovered a large scale mail fraud scheme in the village. Read all about it on our website! https://ow.ly/TMrw50YVJkz

05/27/2026

What was going on in Birmingham on this date in Birmingham's past? In 1961, Birmingham swapped mayors with Edwardsburg, Michigan. No, we weren't permanently trading Florence "T***k" Willett for Edwardsburg officials, it was Mayors Exchange Day! To read all about the day that Mayor Willett had in not-Birmingham, check out the Birmingham Eccentric Archive: https://ow.ly/43aL50YWKhl

Did you know that Birmingham had one of the first female mayors in the state of Michigan? Florence Willett originally became involved in city politics when she advocated for the repaving of the street she lived on. Friends and neighbors encouraged her to run for office, and she was elected to the City Commission in April, 1955. She became Mayor Pro-Tem in 1959 and Mayor in 1960 and served Birmingham in that capacity until 1963.

Read the full record details for Newspaper: Bloomfield-Birmingham Eccentric Newspaper, 1961-05-25

05/26/2026

On this date in 1913, Martha Baldwin died. She was a tireless campaigner for many causes including education, libraries, Greenwood Cemetery, village beautification, suffrage and countless others. After her death, her will gave money to the village to create a new school, a new park and to support the continuous upkeep of Greenwood Cemetery. For her funeral, businesses and schools in the village closed so that everyone could attend. If you've attended Baldwin School, been to the Baldwin Library, attended a funeral/taken a tour at the Greenwood Cemetery, enjoyed Martha Baldwin Park or walked on the city's sidewalks you can thank Martha Baldwin for making it possible.

05/25/2026

On this date in 1821, Dr Ziba Swan bought his land in what would become Birmingham. Ziba Swan was an early Birmingham settler who is perhaps best known today for donating the first ½ acre of land to make Greenwood Cemetery, but he was a lot more than just a land-donator. Ever wondered just what a battlefield doctor during the War of 1812 would have done? Come along and find out.

Ziba Swan was an early Birmingham settler who is perhaps best known today for donating the first ½ acre of land to make Greenwood Cemetery, but he was a lot ...

05/24/2026

On this date in 1844, Samuel Morse sent the first telegraph message. Morse sent his message, "what hath God wrought", from Washington D.C. to the Mount Clare Railroad station in Baltimore, Maryland. In less than two more decades, it was possible to send a telegraph message across the country, and by the 1890s, telegraph lines crisscrossed the United States.

in 1872, future president James Garfield wrote, “Distance, estrangement, isolation, have become overcome by the recent amazing growth in the means of intercommunication. For political and industrial purposes, California and Massachusetts are nearer neighbors to-day than were Philadelphia and Boston in the days of the Revolution… It was distance, isolation, ignorance of separate parts, that broke the cohesive force of the great empires of antiquity. Public Affairs are now more public, and private less private, than in former ages. The railroad, the telegraph and the press have virtually brought our citizens, with their opinions and industries, face to face; they live almost in each other’s sight."

When President Garfield was shot on July 2, 1881 (he had only been in office since March), folks around the country knew within minutes thanks to the telegraph. Citizens all over the country closely followed Garfield's medical care over the next few months, as doctors worked to save his life. In a desperate bid to locate and remove the bullet, Alexander Graham Bell was invited to the sick bed to use his new invention, the metal detector. Unfortunately, Garfield died on September 19, 1881.

Birmingham's Martha Durkee Blakeslee was one of those individuals reading and taking note of the developments in Garfield's medical care and his assassin's trial that were sent via telegraph all over the country and printed in local newspapers. In her June 30, 1882 diary entry, shown below, Martha notes that Garfield's assassin, Charles Guiteau, had been executed that day.

Martha was one of the first generation of Americans who were able to get news almost instantaneously, something that we today take for granted.

05/22/2026

The museum will be closed tomorrow, Saturday May 23, for the Memorial Day weekend. However, we will be open on Monday, after the Memorial Day event at Shain Park. The museum will be open on Monday, May 25 from 11am until 1 pm. For more info on the Memorial Day event, see our website:

Home About Birmingham City History Museum America's 250th Anniversary Programs and Events Print this page Text resize It’s America’s 250th in 2026! This is a special year, and our nation's communities will highlight the local history that gives them character within the bigger picture of ...

05/22/2026

05/21/2026

It's our birthday! On this date in 2001, the Birmingham Museum opened its doors for the very first time. The last 25 years have been chock full of wonderful relationships, fantastic exhibits and fun programming. We look forward to serving our community for many more years to come.

05/20/2026

On this date in 1932, Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. In her Lockheed Vega she set off from Harbor Grace, Newfoundland and landed in Derry, Northern Ireland 15 hours later (a modern flight can make a similar voyage in less than 5 hours). Earhart was the second person to fly solo across the Atlantic, after Charles Lindbergh's successful flight in 1927).
After this flight, Earhart became a celebrity pilot, lecturing across the country and inspiring other women to take to the skies.
But did you know that Birmingham has had a long history of women in aviation? From the beginnings of powered flight to the space age, Birmingham women have done it all! Find out more about these groundbreaking women in the talk below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-t-3oCyFO3o&list=PLcgsTStFRdx6MZvaL97b-h2UBigWZh9l-&index=14

05/19/2026

BIRMINGHAM — By the end of 2026 or early 2027, there will be a free permanent flipbook composed of family recipes submitted by Birmingham residents.