Over 110,000 Items. One Shared Story.
The Mason County Historical Society has been collecting, preserving, and presenting the history of Mason County since 1937 — building one of West Michigan’s most significant community archives through over eight decades of community donations, research, and care.
THE COLLECTION'S FOUNDATION
Built on the Vision of Rose Hawley
The collection bears the name of Rose Hawley — and fittingly so. Born in 1889, Rose joined the Mason County Historical Society in 1950 and quickly became its driving force. She organized and managed a series of community museums, welcomed visitors with stories that brought history alive, and persuaded neighbors, families, and businesses to donate the irreplaceable objects that now form the backbone of the archives.
Rose’s greatest achievement was the idea for Historic White Pine Village itself — sparked when a visiting schoolteacher asked about the crumbling 1849 courthouse on the Buttersville Peninsula. She championed the vision, helped secure the land, and oversaw the original displays that opened on the Fourth of July, 1976, the nation’s bicentennial.
In December 2024, the Society’s vast historical collection was formally dedicated in her honor at the downtown Research Center. A mural honoring Rose Hawley was unveiled alongside murals of Eber Ward and James Ludington — placing her among the founders of this city’s story.
WHAT WE COLLECT
Eight Decades of Mason County Memory
Photographs & Visual Records
Thousands of original photographic prints, glass plates, negatives, and slides documenting people, places, businesses, events, and everyday life.
Documents & Personal Papers
Letters, diaries, ledgers, legal records, business papers, and personal correspondence — the written voices of Mason County residents across generations.
Newspapers & Publications
Historic issues of the Ludington Daily News and other local publications, plus books, pamphlets, and institutional records tracing Mason County’s public life and journalism.
Maps & Plats
Survey maps, plat books, fire insurance maps, and property records charting the physical development of Mason County from its earliest settlement through the 20th century.
Genealogy & Family Histories
Family trees, genealogy files, vital records, cemetery records, school yearbooks, and compiled family histories for hundreds of families and their descendants.
Industrial & Lumber Artifacts
Tools, equipment, company records, and objects from the defining lumbering era — from the great log drives on Pere Marquette Lake to the sawmills that built a county.
Maritime & Carferry Collection
Navigation instruments, vessel records, Coast Guard materials, carferry memorabilia, and documentation of the Great Lakes maritime trade that shaped Ludington as a port city.
Domestic & Community Life
Household objects, clothing, furnishings, religious items, and the everyday artifacts that reveal how families lived, worked, worshipped, and celebrated across generations.
The Collection Lives in Three Places
Over 110,000 items can’t fit in one room. The MCHS collection is distributed across the Society’s locations — on exhibit, in visible storage, and in the research archives — each accessible in a different way.
The Rose Hawley Archives
The heart of the collection. Over 130,000 archival items — photographs, documents, letters, books, maps, newspapers, and family histories — housed in the lower level and research gallery of the Research Center at 130 E. Ludington Avenue. Available to researchers by appointment.
On Exhibit at Both Museums
Thousands of artifacts from the collection are on display throughout the 30 buildings of Historic White Pine Village and the 30+ exhibits of the Port of Ludington Maritime Museum — from pioneer tools and domestic objects to navigation instruments, vessel models, and Coast Guard memorabilia.
Heritage Vault
The Research Center’s converted 1964 Diebold bank vault serves as a “visible storage” area — allowing visitors to see a large number of special artifacts that aren’t in the main exhibits, stored on the vault’s original shelves and inside its drawers in secure, museum-quality conditions.
VISIBLE STORAGE
The Heritage Vault
Not every object in a museum’s collection can be placed in a traditional exhibit — but that doesn’t mean it should be locked away unseen. The Mason County Heritage Vault solves this beautifully.
The Research Center’s original 1964 Diebold bank vault has been transformed into one of the most distinctive visible storage areas in West Michigan. Its shelves and drawers, once home to financial records and safety deposit boxes, now hold hundreds of artifacts — displayed openly so visitors can browse history in its most intimate form.
From period clothing, women’s accessories, and everyday domestic objects to iconic photographs and rare curiosities, the Vault offers glimpses into bygone eras that no standard exhibit could match. It’s history on open shelves — accessible, tactile in feeling, and deeply personal.
Period Clothing & Textiles
Victorian-era garments, accessories, and domestic textiles from Mason County families — items too fragile for open display, preserved for posterity.
Iconic Photographs
Rare and significant photographic prints from the archives — portraits, scenes of early Ludington, lumbering operations, and Lake Michigan maritime life.
The Cartier Lumber Calendar Clock
A very rare Calendar Clock built for the Cartier Lumber Company in 1978 — one of the Vault’s signature pieces, a singular artifact of Mason County’s industrial heritage.
Curiosities & Ephemera
The objects that defy easy categories — bones found along Lake Michigan’s shores, pomanders, tokens, and personal mementos that Rose Hawley herself once held in her hands.
GROW THE COLLECTION
Donate a Piece of Mason County History
The collection you see today was built almost entirely by the generosity of community members — individuals and families who chose to entrust their most meaningful objects and documents to the Historical Society for safekeeping and public benefit.
We welcome donations of relevant historical materials from Mason County and the surrounding region. Before submitting a donation request, please review the information below carefully. We ask all donors to follow our process to ensure items are evaluated, accepted, and properly cared for.
Important: Please do not bring items to any of our locations, or mail or drop off unsolicited items. All donations must go through our evaluation process before transfer.
Contact Amber at amber@mchshistory.org to begin a donation request.
What kind of items do you accept?
| Photographs & Portraits | Documents & Letters | Maps & Plats |
| Newspapers & Periodicals | Family Histories & Genealogy | School Yearbooks |
| Tools & Trade Objects | Household & Domestic Items | Clothing & Textile |
| Books & Publications | Maritime Artifacts | Lumber Era Materials |
What is the donation process?
- Contact Amber by Email — Send a message to amber@mchshistory.org with a detailed description of the item(s), their history and provenance, dimensions, and photographs if possible.
- Collections Committee Review — Your request goes to the MCHS Collections Committee, which evaluates and votes on accepting the item. This process ensures the collection remains focused, meaningful, and properly resourced to care for new acquisitions.
- Acceptance & Deed of Gift — If accepted, staff will contact you to walk through the donation process and arrange transfer. You’ll sign a Deed of Gift form, which transfers full legal ownership to the Society.
- Transfer & Preservation — Your item is catalogued, preserved, and added to the collection — where it may be placed on exhibit, in the Heritage Vault, or in the research archives, available to future generations.
What is the Deed of Gift?
A Deed of Gift is a legal document that formally transfers ownership of donated items to the Mason County Historical Society. It is required for all accepted donations and must be signed before any item is transferred.
- Donors must fill out and sign the Deed of Gift, which transfers full legal ownership to the Historical Society
- Donations are made unconditionally and without restrictions on use or exhibition
- No donation is to be accepted with the understanding that it will be exhibited — placement decisions rest with MCHS staff and curators
- Once transferred, items become part of the permanent collection and are held in trust for the public benefit
What is MCHS currently looking for?
The Society is actively seeking Mason County school yearbooks for all years and all schools to add to the Rose Hawley Archives. If you have yearbooks to donate, contact us using the information above.
ACCESS THE COLLECTION
The Archives Are Open to Researchers
The archival materials in the Rose Hawley Archives — photographs, documents, newspapers, books, maps, family histories, and more — are available to researchers at the Mason County Research Center. Whether you’re tracing your family tree, writing local history, or studying a specific topic, our staff and volunteers are here to assist.
Research visits require an appointment at least two weeks in advance, and all materials are retrieved from secure archival storage by staff. The gallery also includes a microfilm machine and computer stations with database and Ancestry.com access.
Research Gallery
Research Gallery
Books, reference materials, and finding aids are available.
Microfilm & Digital Access
Microfilm & Digital Access
Access microfilm readers and online databases.
Archive Materials
Archive Materials
All archival items are retrieved from secure, climate-controlled storage by staff.
Guided Group Tours
Guided Group Tours
Offered on Tuesdays & Fridays at 3:00pm. Tickets are required.
ACCESS THE COLLECTION
The Archives Are Open to Researchers
The archival materials in the Rose Hawley Archives — photographs, documents, newspapers, books, maps, family histories, and more — are available to researchers at the Mason County Research Center. Whether you’re tracing your family tree, writing local history, or studying a specific topic, our staff and volunteers are here to assist.
Research visits require an appointment at least two weeks in advance, and all materials are retrieved from secure archival storage by staff. The gallery also includes a microfilm machine and computer stations with database and Ancestry.com access.
Research Gallery
Research Gallery
Books, reference materials, and finding aids are available.
Microfilm & Digital Access
Microfilm & Digital Access
Access microfilm readers and online databases.
Archive Materials
Archive Materials
All archival items are retrieved from secure, climate-cooled storage by staff.
Guided Group Tours
Guided Group Tours
Offered on Tuesdays & Fridays at 3:00pm. Tickets are required.
Help Us Preserve What Matters
GROW THE COLLECTION
Donate Items to the
Heritage Vault
The collection you see today was built almost entirely by the generosity of community members. We welcome donations of relevant historical materials from Mason County and the surrounding region. Contribute to the preservation of our local history!
HERITAGE CIRCLE GIVING
Rose Hawley
Archives Fund
The Rose Hawley Archives is the cornerstone of the MCHS mission. Contributions directly support cataloguing, conservation, digitization, and the preservation of existing and newly donated materials for future researchers.
GET MEMBER BENEFITS
Sign Up for a
Membership
MCHS membership directly supports the care and growth of the collection — while also granting you unlimited museum admission, research library access, and the Mason Memories newsletter connecting you to the archives you’re helping sustain.
Every Object Tells a Story.
Help Us Keep Telling Them.
Whether you donate an heirloom, schedule a research visit, support us financially, or simply walk through our museums — you are part of a community that has chosen to remember. That choice is what the Mason County Historical Society has been built on since 1937.