Big Rapids and Mecosta County History Guide: Researching Big Rapids History

Spring term class project for Richard Santer's cultural geography class. A brief history emphasizing the hospitals- from Mercy Hospital to Mecosta County General Hospital.

Basic plan for city on how to restore/preserve the historic structures within the city by the Michigan State Urban and Regional Planning program. Includes and extensive bibliography.

Contains articles, mostly by school children, about Big Rapids past and present. The focus is on individuals, businesses and organizations. There are not many photographs.

Contains articles about and pictures of Big Rapids people, houses and businesses.

This is a local historian compilation of township history. Describes events, individuals and businesses. Also includes photographs.

Typed manuscript depicting the early history of Big Rapids and Mecosta County, up to 1881. Includes descriptions of buildings/businesses in Big Rapids.

This booklet provides a capsule view of Ferris and Big Rapids from the 1920s, including photographs and statistics.

History of St. Peter's Lutheran Church focusing on the year 1886. Includes sermons and church register.

Paper detailing the history of Leonard (Mich.) which was the first official county seat. It was eventually known as Big Rapids (Mich.)

Anniversary history written for the 125th anniversary of the church. Includes translations by Martha Schimel.

These are city records, transferred to the University Archives. Limited minutes and correspondence is available. The majority of the records consist of financial records, including school reports and tax reports.

Democratic newspaper for Big Rapids published by local resident William P. Nisbett. Coverage includes: Vol. 1, no. 1, October 1, 1888 through Volume 7, no. 165, April 12, 1895.

FLITE has the weekly Pioneer from the beginning (Mecosta County Pioneer) until it ceased publication on December 31, 1914 and the daily from August 1881-September 30, 1882; January 2, 1883-March 31, 1924; January 1, 1907-March 31, 1915; November 11, 1916; January 1-March 31, 1924; January 1-June 30, 1925; October 1,1928-June 29, 1935; October 1935-September 30, 1946 and June 2,1947- present. Missing issues were destroyed. In some years the Pioneer published a chronological review of events including births, deaths and marriages. Other issues cover local, regional and national events. l

Two different versions of city directories. Include basic information including addresses and telephone numbers. Early versions may also include information about the city. There is a large gap in the collection between 1896 and 1945. It is not a complete run of directories. See online catalog for more gaps.

This is the local high school yearbook. Includes photos of students, staff and various activities