This marker on the main street through downtown Marshall Michigan has a different message on each…read moreside. The marker is in excellent condition and is quite high up on the mounting post. On one side, "Until the Civil Service reforms of 1883, one became a postmaster through a federal political appointment. Thus, postmasters were usually prominent political leaders of the local community. In 1831 George Ketchum, cofounder of the city of Marshall, became this area's first postmaster. In 1833 he was followed by the Reverend John D. Pierce, who later became Michigan's first state superintendent of public instruction. Through the years a stagecoach operator, a banker, a physician, a mayor, and a newspaper publisher have served the community as postmasters." And on the other side, "Howard F. Young (1889-1934), a native of Allegan, designed this Marshall post office building in 1932. Young studied engineering at the University of Michigan and was involved in construction work in Albany, New York, Detroit, and Kalamazoo. His interest in restoring Greek Revival architecture is evident in his Marshall projects, which include the restoration of the Harold C. Brooks and other homes and the conversion of Marshall's livery stable into a town hall. Young also designed the Brooks Memorial Fountain." If you're in Marshall, stop by! [Review 11080 overall, 853 of 2019.]

Rather than mounted on a pole like most, Mister Miner's marker is on the building at the corner of…read moreEagle Street and Michigan Avenue in downtown Marshall. A local boy done good, as the saying goes. The marker reads: "James A. Miner, born in Marshall in 1842, began studying law in Clinton, Iowa, in 1860. Completing his studies in Marshall, he was admitted to the Calhoun County bar in 1863. There he was circuit court commissioner (1866-1870) and prosecuting attorney (1870-1874). His office was in this building from 1869 to 1873. His 1876 partnership with Francis A. Stace created one of the county's largest law firms. President Benjamin Harrison appointed him a Utah territorial justice in 1890, and he was elected the state's first chief justice (1896-1903). He died in 1907." [Review 11094 overall, 867 of 2019.]

This historical marker sits in front of a beautiful home that dates from the mid-1800's. It is…read morelocated just off the main drag of Michigan Avenue a shot bit from the traffic circle and downtown Marshall. The marker has captions on both sides. "Oliver C. Comstock Jr. (1806-1895) built this Gothic Revival house between 1849 and 1856. Comstock, born in Fairfield, New York, migrated to the Marshall area in 1836. He left a well-established medical practice in Trumansburg, New York, to start anew on the Michigan frontier. Later that year, he erected the first brick business building in Calhoun County on Exchange Street. It housed his pharmacy and office." "Oliver C. Comstock Jr. served as the state's third superintendent of public instruction (1843-45). In 1847 he was one of the abolitionists who prevented Kentucky slaveholders' taking the fugitive slave family of Adam Crosswhite. In 1848 he and several prominent Marshall citizens were convicted and fined for conspiracy to harbor the fugitives. Comstock was superintendent of the construction of the Michigan Central Railroad between Jackson and Kalamazoo and a founder of the Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society." [Review 11175 overall, 950 of 2019.]

At the roundabout where Kalamazoo Avenue meets Michigan Avenue, which is at the western end of the…read moremain street of Marshall, is this pretty fountain. It's May, so the water is drained, but I'm sure it will start looking great in the next couple of weeks. There is a historical marker nearby that provides some history. It reads: "In October 1929, Marshall's mayor, Harold C. Brooks, announced his gift to the city of an 'electric fountain' in memory of his late father, Charles E. Brooks. Architect Howard F. Young, landscape engineer Herman Swanson, and engineers from General Electric collaborated on the design. At its dedication, on April 26, 1930, some seven thousand people applauded with 'exclamations of surprise' and 'wonderment' when the mayor's son, Craig, turned on the fountain and its multi-colored lights." [Review 11088 overall, 861 of 2019.]

This historic marker is mounted in front of the Grand Army of the Republic Hall along the main…read morestreet of downtown Marshall. On one side, "In 1866 northern Civil War veterans organized the Grand Army of the Republic to fight for veterans' pensions and other benefits. Michigan's first chapter was formed the next year. National membership peaked in 1890 with 409,489 men, while Michigan's rolls crested in 1889 with more than 21,000 members. In its heyday, the G.A.R. was a powerful political pressure group. The society also provided food and clothing for indigent widows and orphans. The last state encampment was held in 1948." On the other side: "Marshall's Civil War veterans organized a Grand Army of the Republic chapter in 1883. They built this handsome red brick structure as their headquarters in 1902. It was named for Marshall's Corporal Calvin Colegrove, color-bearer for the Michigan First Infantry, who was killed at the first Battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861. The memorial hall, built at a cost of three thousand dollars, served C. Colegrove Post No. 166 until the late 1930s. In 1977 the Marshall Historical Society purchased it for one dollar to house its archives." [Review 11174 overall, 949 of 2019.]

This small marker is located high on the pole near the traffic circle that has the Brooks Fountain…read moreand is in front of the Marshall City Hall building. The City Hall doesn't really look like a stone barn, though. The marker reads: "Built by William Prindle in 1857, this landmark served as a livery stable for over sixty years. It also saw brief use as a stagecoach stop for the lines connecting Coldwater with Lansing. By 1928 it had become an unsightly gas station. Purchased through the efforts of Mayor Harold C. Brooks, its conversion into a city hall by architect Howard Young was completed in time for Marshall's centennial celebration of 1930." [Review 11087 overall, 860 of 2019.]

Not far from downtown and the main traffic circle on Michigan Avenue is this beautiful home. It's…read morevery striking and should be part of any architectural tour that you might make of Marshall. It's not open for tours but you can see quite a lot of it from the outside. The marker reads: "Erected in 1843, this house is among the oldest in Marshall. It came to be known as "Hillside", a named derived from its prominent location. The house was designed in the fashionable Gothic Revival style. Its architecture and landscaping were likely influenced by the design for a "Cottage in the English or Rural Gothic Style" in Cottage Residences, a popular book of house plans by landscape gardener Andrew Jackson Downing that was published in 1842." And on the other side, "This house, built for local attorney Henry W. Taylor and long owned by the Schuyler family, was also home to Mary "Mazie" Miller (1871-1941) and her husband, Craig. An outspoken suffragette and Republican political activist, Miller was an early president of the Michigan League of Women Voters. She resided here from 1905 until her death. During that time, Miller hosted many political luminaries, including future U.S. president William Howard Taft, as well as state legislators from Lansing." [Review 11101 overall, 874 of 2019.]