First of all, a couple of recommendations:
- If you are interested in information about a specific person or family, and research for genealogy, please contact the Ionia County Genealogical Society. That is their specialty, and their records are amazing.
- If you are interested in the history of a home, a business, or an institution, we may be able to help, but you should contact the County Clerk’s office for historical property and ownership details.
- For any research project, your first stop should be the Ionia Community Library, where they have access to historical data of a much broader and deeper range than we do at the Historical Society.
The Ionia County Historical Society are caretakers for many valuable and interesting documents, spanning hundreds of years of local history. We have photographs, business records, directories and yearbooks, family collections and official government records, and more. We receive calls, visits, and emails from around the country from people wanting to research their family, their home, or local businesses and institutions.
Unfortunately, we don’t have the staff, time, or budget to be able to catalog and store the vast amounts of information we have in the archives. We desire to be a valuable resource for research, but our ability is limited. Limited volunteers, facilities, and funds make it very difficult for us to help with most research questions.
That being said, we do have very historically aware members in our Society who know many details about the community’s past. We do have accessible high school yearbooks and city directories on site, and will try to look up basic information when we can. This service is one of our primary goals for the future of our organization, but for now we simply do what we can.
Please feel free to contact us with your specific challenge and we will do what we can to help!
Become a Member of the Ionia County Historical Society
Simply download our Membership Form by clicking HERE (a PDF file) and send it via the US Post Office as described on the form with your yearly dues payment.
In addition to supporting the programs and mission of the Historical Society, your Membership includes…
- Our (almost) Monthly Newsletter
- Voting rights at the Annual Meeting
- Discounts on many ICHS Activities
- Discounts on Gift Shop Items
