Monetary Donations
To make a monetary donation to the ICHS, you can simply write a check to us and send it to the following address:
Ionia County Historical Society
attn: Treasurer
PO Box 176
Ionia, MI 48846
If you would like your gift to support a specific ICHS project, event, or activity, simply include a note with your donation. Also, if you’d like to make a donation in honor of someone, or on behalf of your family or an organization, include that information as well.
And, of course if you’d like your donation to be anonymous, we will honor that request, too.
Another way you can support the ICHS (aside from our fund-raising events) would be to make your Amazon purchases through “smile.amazon.com” and designate the Ionia County Historical Society as a recipient. A small percentage of your transaction cost will be donated to the ICHS by Amazon!
Thanks for considering the Ionia County Historical Society for your support.
Artifacts & Documents
Interested in donating something to the Ionia County Historical Society?
Thank you! The Ionia County Historical Society (the ICHS) depends on the generosity of people like you to enhance our collections.
While ICHS does not accept “unsolicited donations” or “drop-offs,” we are happy to work with you to schedule time to evaluate your potential donation. In general, the best thing to do is to send a letter to or email the Accessions Committee along with photographs and descriptions of the offered item(s).
All donations of artifacts or documents must be accompanied by the appropriate paperwork. A copy of the ICHS “Custody Receipt” form can be picked up at the Blanchard House, requested to be sent to you by mail, or downloaded the PDF here for completion.
Points to be aware of when considering a donation to the ICHS:
- Our criteria for the acceptance and retention of donations:
- Items owned by the Blanchard, Stevenson, and Lockwood families who lived in
the Blanchard House. - Items from the mid-to-late 19th century that will enhance our interpretation of the
Blanchard’s lifestyle when they lived in the house (1880-1905). - Items pertaining directly to the history of Ionia County. (Items made in Ionia, belonging to Ionia area residents – with documentation, documents related
to the community, etc.)NOTE: The Ionia County communities of Belding, Saranac, Lyons-Muir, Lake Odessa, and Portland have historical organizations focused on their own local history. If your items are related to those areas, please contact them directly.
- Items of particular significance in a general historical sense that is relevant to the
interpretation of Ionia area history in some way.NOTE: This could include tools, publications, souvenirs, articles of clothing, or products that would have been available and significant to Ionians. This might include war relics, ration books, toys, mechanisms, antique product packages, etc., which would help to interpret stories and time periods for special displays and presentations.
- More recent items, pertaining to current Ionia area history that must be retained
for future historians. (Such items will be retained on a case-by-case basis.)
- Items owned by the Blanchard, Stevenson, and Lockwood families who lived in
- Primary consideration will be given to the ability of the ICHS to provide proper care and storage for any object. No item(s) will be considered for acquisition if future care and preservation exceed the ICHS’ resources. (Donations that include financial support for long-term storage and preservation are encouraged!)
- Donors must have clear title and ownership of the items being donated. This includes permission to donate copyrighted material (photos, artwork, etc.) as applicable.
- A 30-day examination and review period may be requested for any proposed acquisition.
- All acquisitions are to be outright and unconditional. The ICHS cannot guarantee that objects donated will be placed on exhibition, or that they will be exhibited or stored intact as a single collection. In addition, please be aware that curatorial decisions made during cataloging of new collections may result in objects being deemed more appropriate for sale to benefit the ICHS, or custody transferred to another more appropriate organization.
- All donations to the Society’s collections are irrevocable upon the formal and physical transfer to the ICHS.
- Federal law prevents the ICHS from providing identification services or appraisal values for donated items. Donors are responsible for appraisals of value.
Donations are fully tax deductible within IRS guidelines. Please consult your tax advisor. We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. Tax I.D. 23-7423779.
Volunteering
There are many ways that an individual or group can help the Historical Society to serve our community.
Here are just a few:
Become a Member
This step will give you Email notification each time a new Newsletter is released, and you may choose to have a paper copy to be mailed to you via the US Postal Service. In addition, you will receive member discounts on rental of the Blanchard House (after your first year of membership) and discounts on many items in our gift shoppe.
Click here to BECOME A MEMBER
Host at the Blanchard House/Museum
For the times when the Blanchard House is open for public visits, as well as special tour groups, school classes, and “by appointment” visits, volunteers are needed to welcome our guests at the house. This entails monitoring the front door as people come and go, greeting folks as they arrive, asking them to sign the guest book, and inviting them to wait for the next available docent for their tour. (Depending on special seasonal exhibits or themed displays, from time to time this routine may vary slightly.)
Hosting is generally a three-hour commitment, but any time you can spare is welcomed!
Become a Tour Guide (“Docent”)
There is a Docent’s Handbook for the Blanchard House / Museum that will give anyone a chance to learn how to guide visitors through the house. Although everyone has their own areas of expertise and ways of presenting information about the House and its contents, this booklet contains the basics. With it, anyone can deliver a fairly complete tour of the Blanchard House and Museum.
To enhance what’s in the Docent’s Guide, we encourage any interested member to take tours of the House with other Docents and learn additional bits of information that can be shared – stories about the Blanchards, about the furnishings and artifacts, the late-19th-century lifestyle, and Ionia’s fascinating history. As with most things, experience is the best teacher.
Help at ICHS Events
The Historical Society provides several opportunities throughout the year that are geared towards raising money to support the organization, maintain the Blanchard House, and provide funds for specific projects. It all takes someone’s time, and “more hands make light work.”
For example:
- Upstairs/Downtown Tours — Held annually, usually in May, there are positions available for tour guides in Ionia’s historic downtown buildings. People are needed to help research the history behind each location on the tour, helping to write the scripts for the tour guides, and being an assistant to the tour guides on duty if they need a break during the 4-hour event. We also need volunteers to set up and take down our signs, sell tickets and hand out programs, as well as organizing and advertising the event itself.
- “Spirits of Ionia” Cemetery Tour — This annual event requires a bit more “immersion” for each of our presenters than the Upstairs/Downtown Tour. Around six presenters each year are asked to portray a citizen from Ionia’s past in costume and (if you’re comfortable with the idea) in character. There’s a chance to research our various subjects and compile a 10-minute biographical, first-person script to share their life stories with our guests at the cemetery. The event also needs folks to park cars, sell tickets, set up and take down the signs and shelters, and help with the advance promotion of the event.
- The Annual Yard Sale — This event’s time changes from year to year, but generally requires people to accept donations to the sale, sort and price the items, set up tents and tables, handle the sale itself, and put it all away once the sale is complete.
- Other Sales Events – Includes the annual Mrs. Claus Bazaar, and other such opportunities at community events throughout the year.
- Other Community Events — In addition to our own events, the ICHS participates in many other community activities, including parades and socials, helping in several areas at the Free Fair, and in support of other non-profits in the area. We also work with the Ionia Community Library to bring special presentations and programs to the area.
Serve as a Committee Member
The ICHS has a handful of standing committees that can always use a helping hand. Some are more demanding than others, but all are vital to our success!
They are:
- Program Committee — The Historical Society has hosted monthly public meetings for decades. The first Wednesday of every month, folks can count on some sort of special program or presentation at the Blanchard House. Finding presenters is what this committee does – from local folks and their special interests, to authors and actors with historic subjects to share, or representatives from other historic organizations. With suggestions from the members and other program resources, this is a vital link between the Historical Society and our community.
- Accessions Committee — The folks in charge of cataloging the artifacts and documents in the ICHS collections into the computer database, and preparing them for storage or display. In addition to newly donated items (which come in continually), there are thousands of things already in the collections that have not been properly recorded. Working with Accessions gives you a first-hand chance to see all the wonderful history represented by these precious items entrusted to us to preserve and share with the community. If you enjoy antiques and research, and you’re a detail-oriented person, you’ll enjoy helping this committee!
- Refreshments Committee — Yes, we do like our cookies during the monthly meetings! This committee is in charge of the arrangements, simple or sophisticated.
- Building and Grounds Committee — Keeping up the Blanchard House – or any house over 140 years old – is an ongoing task. There are always projects large and small to be addressed, from changing light bulbs to trimming the grass, plus managing issues that might require professional help from contractors or historic preservation specialists.
- Housekeeping Committee — The name pretty well says what this committee does! But there’s more to it than keeping the House clean. This committee does do the cleaning, and also works with professional services for some of the chores. In addition to caring for the valuable and unique antiques on display are the household wares such as cleaning supplies, garbage collection, table settings, serving utensils, beverages, etc. When there are special events at the house, it’s the Housekeeping Committee that ensures that the tables are set, the chairs are arranged, and (sometimes) that the caterers have everything they need.
- Membership Committee — Every organization needs a solid membership to make things work. This committee keeps in touch with members to be sure their expectations are met, maintains the membership list, and provides information that members might request from time to time. They also work on the recruiting side to grow the membership at every opportunity, and retain those members already on the list.
- Museum Committee — The lower level of the Blanchard House is our local history museum. As part of a tour of the Blanchard House, this area includes the summer kitchen, cistern, furnace room and cellar. But it also houses a host of displays conveying a glimpse at the history of the Ionia area over the past 200 years. From log cabins to towering factories, the Free Fair and Movie Theatre, military service and school houses — Ionia’s place in the world is reflected here in these four small rooms. Arranging the displays, caring for the artifacts, and telling the story of our community is what this committee does. This committee is also growing to accommodate new displays and public areas in the Carriage House, and also manages the off-site storage of artifacts and ICHS property.
- Rental Committee — Making all the arrangements for a rental include not only filling out a form and collecting the rent. Every event is unique and requires a certain amount of preparation. The Rental Committee works very closely with Housekeeping to fulfill our guests’ expectations. Occasionally an event will require a projector screen, podium, or other special arrangements, too. It’s a vital part of supporting our guests who rent the House to be sure their experience is outstanding every time.
- Publicity Committee — Letting the world know what we’re all about, this committee provides a communication link to our community and beyond. When an event or activity has been planned, the Publicity machine goes to work. From Facebook posts to media interviews, distributing posters and fliers around town, and working with state-wide historic and tourism organizations, there are plenty of opportunities to help the ICHS be a success.
To volunteer, just get in touch with a current member or ICHS Board Member and let us know how you’d like to help. Thanks for your interest!