By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief
PERE MARQUETTE TOWNSHIP — Demolition of a former administration building at Historic White Pine Village is scheduled to take place Wednesday, April 29. Scheduled to be razed is the blue house that sits near the entrance of the building. It was originally built as the main entry point of the village and for many years housed the Mason County Historical Society’s Rose Hawley Museum.
Mason County Historical Society President James Jensen said the building is not historically significant.
“As we near the 50th anniversary of the village, the society’s board of directors has really explored various options for the house,” said Jensen said. “The house is a replica from the colonial era, which does not reflect the era of the village, which is mid-19th and early-20th centuries. The society’s board has researched all options, including restoring and repairing the building but those costs are rather prohibitive compared to razing it.”
Thom Hawley, who served as the society’s inaugural executive director beginning in 1978, confirmed the building is not a historical landmark.
“The building at the village, once referred to as the Rose Hawley Museum, has long been out of service in that role,” Hawley said. “It is a pre-fabricated structure that was purchased by the society in the mid-70s to serve as an admissions and staff housing structure and has no inherent historical significance to the county’s history.”
Historic White Pine Village, owned and operated by the Mason County Historical Society, opened on July 4, 1976 and will be celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2026. The village was built around the Burr and Hannah Caswell home, built in 1849. The house is the oldest residential structure in Mason County also served as the county’s first courthouse. The property was acquired by the society in the 1960s with the vision of creating a historical village. The 12-acre property now includes several historical Mason County buildings that were moved to the site along with some replicas. However, the blue colored house on the south end of the village was only placed on the site to serve as an admissions building and dormitory for staff.
The Mason County Historical Society was organized in 1937. In 1951, the society opened its first museum, curated by Rose Hawley, in the basement of the Church of Christ, located at the corner of James and Court streets in Ludington. In 1960, the society purchased the former Church of the Nazarene and opened the Rose Hawley Museum in 1961.
In the early 1990s, the society acquired 115 W. Loomis St. (now the People’s Church) and operated the Rose Hawley Museum from that location. It was again moved to the village later that decade. In 2021, the society opened a new facility at 130 E. Ludington Ave. to house its archives and provide a modern research center. The society’s board, in 2024, re-dedicated the building as the Rose Hawley Archives and formally decommissioned the Blue Building.
Mason County Sheriff Kim Cole, who serves as vice president of the society’s board of directors, said the society explored various options for the building and attempted to even give it away.
“We held discussions with township officials and private individuals,” Cole said. “But, all agreed that the cost of restoring the building and moving it would be too expensive.”
The historical society will celebrate the village’s 50th anniversary with a special event on July 3. That event will coincide with the county’s observation of the U.S. semiquincentennial, commemorating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Additional 50th anniversary events of the village, which will open for the season early in May, will be held throughout the year. In preparation for the celebrations, efforts have been taking place the past several years and continue this year, to spruce up the village.
“Over the past year, the society has invested in several of the structures at the village, most notably in repairing the fireplace and some of the structure of what we call the Trapper’s Cabin,” said Rebecca Berringer, executive director of the society. “The cabin is at least 175 years old and is a popular attraction. We are also in the process of revamping the blacksmith shop and have plans for new interpretive signage throughout the village.”
The Mason County Historical Society is a non-profit charitable organization. It receives no taxpayer support, relying on donations and admissions fees. In addition to Historic White Pine Village, it also operates the Port of Ludington Maritime Museum, Rose Hawley Archives and the Mason County Emporium and Sweet Shop.
For more information on how to join or to contribute visit masoncountymihistory.org.
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