June 16, 2005

Michigan Historical Commissioner and newspaper publisher Samuel Logan, Jr. will dedicate two new Michigan historical markers in Flint on Friday and Saturday, June 17 and 18.

Friday's dedication will take place at noon on the Genesee County Courthouse grounds, 900 S. Saginaw St.  As part of the city's Juneteenth celebration, Logan will join the Genesee County Board of Commissioners and the participants in the Flint Underground Railroad Heritage Program to unveil a marker that discusses Flint resistance to the institution of slavery.

"Flint, like the nation, experienced tension around the institution of slavery and the efforts of people who sought to end it," said Dr. William Anderson, director of the Department of History, Arts and Libraries.  "Emotions ran high on both sides and these emotions played out in the 19th-century press."

The Michigan historical marker will also recognize Robert Cromwell, an African American who escaped enslavement in the south and came to Flint, where he opened a barbershop.  The marker includes a reproduction of an advertisement Cromwell ran in the Flint Republican on Jan. 30, 1847.  The marker was paid for with a grant from the Ruth Mott Foundation.

Saturday's event will take place at 1 p.m. at the Thomas B. W. Stockton House, 720 Ann Arbor St.  Thomas Stockton and his wife, Maria Smith, built the elaborate Italianate house in 1872.  Stockton served in the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers during the Mexican and Civil wars.  The Stockton House, now owned by architect Freeman Greer, is undergoing a major historic rehabilitation.

Flint now has 25 Michigan historical markers.  The marker program is administered by the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO).  Sponsors pay for markers through donation to the state of Michigan.  Since the program began in 1955, more than 1,500 historical markers have been erected.  To learn more about the marker program and registered historic sites, visit the SHPO Web site at www.michigan.gov/shpo.

A new book published by the University of Michigan Press, "Traveling Through Time: A Guide to Michigan's Historical Markers," includes the texts and locations of all but the most recent markers.  The book is available anywhere where books are sold. 

The State Historic Preservation Office is a division of the Michigan Historical Center, part of the Department of History, Arts and Libraries.  Dedicated to enriching the quality of life for Michigan residents and strengthening the economy by providing access to information, preserving and promoting Michigan's heritage and fostering cultural creativity, the department also includes the Mackinac Island State Park Commission, the Library of Michigan, the Michigan Film Office and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs.

Read more press releases from the Department of History, Arts and Libraries.