Did you know the first U.S. mail delivery by vehicle was in 1902 in Adrian, Michigan?
That’s one of the things I learned this weekend when I saw the beautiful architecture of the Lenawee County Historical Museum in Adrian, Michigan and decided to stop in, learn more about the building, and explore the museum.
Lenawee County Historical Museum
Originally dedicated in 1909, the Lenawee County Historical Museum is a two and one-half story Richardsonian Romanesque red masonry building built between 1907 and 1909 as the Adrian Public Library (a Carnegie library).
The architect was Paul Moratz of Bloomington, Indiana; the builder was C.F. Matthew of Adrian, well-known for building many Adrian homes as well as the YMCA and the Lenawee County Savings Bank.
In 1978, the building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
When the library outgrew the building and moved to a new site, the city of Adrian sold the building to the Lenawee County Historical Society for $10.00.
Private donations and a grant helped fund renovations and improvements to the building; the new Historical Museum opened in December 1980.
The museum exhibits include history of politics and government, a full-size Lion Car near the entrance, tools, toys, and dolls, as well as an entire section on the evolution of technology with abacus, phonographs, computers, and other machines from the past.
I had a lot of fun checking out their collection of Commodore 64, original Apple Macintosh, old-fashioned phones, and flip phones.
In addition to enjoying the architecture and the museum exhibits, I loved seeing the bronze sculpture near the entrance of the museum, Max, which was donated to the museum in 2005.
Have you visited the Lenawee County Historical Museum?
