Great Lakes and Michigan History

A Hanging in Detroit: Stephen Gifford Simmons and the Last Execution under Michigan Law

David G. Chardavoyne

The first historical study—and a riveting account—of the last execution in Michigan.

A Fashionable Tour Through the Great Lakes and Upper Mississippi: The 1852 Journal of Juliette Starr Dana

Edited by David T. Dana III

A rare glimpse of American frontier life as told by the private journal of a wealthy woman’s “pleasure” tour from New York City to Minnesota in the summer of 1852.

Flight to Freedom: The Story of the Vietnamese of West Michigan

Edited by Gordon L. Olson

A commemorative history of Vietnamese refugees in the Grand Rapids area who were forced to flee their homeland beginning in 1975, when Saigon fell to a Communist invasion.

Michigan’s Early Military Forces: A Roster and History of Troops Activated Prior to the American Civil War

Rosters compiled by Le Roy Barnett with histories by Roger Rosentreter

The first extensive treatment of Michigan’s early military forces, this book includes the names of all known Michiganians who answered the call to arms prior to the Civil War and explains the circumstances of each major conflict.

The French Canadians of Michigan: Their Contribution to the Development of the Saginaw Valley and the Keweenaw Peninsula, 1840–1914

Jean Lamarre

The first major study of the migration of French Canadians to Michigan during the nineteenth century and their substantial impact on the state’s development.

For the Good of the Children: A History of the Boys and Girls Republic

Gay Pitman Zieger

The story of a notable Michigan institution founded at the turn of the twentieth century, this book looks at the lives of troubled children and those who helped them, and illuminates major shifts in America’s child welfare system.