Tecumseh prepares for bicentennial weekend July 18-21
TECUMSEH — This week, the first settlement in Lenawee County by pioneers from the eastern United States will celebrate its bicentennial.
Tecumseh was founded by Musgrove Evans in 1824 as he moved to the Michigan Territory to secure surveying contracts for military roads that would be built. It was named for the great Shawnee chief, Tecumseh, due to the respect Evans and others had for him. Author Clara Waldron's history of Tecumseh's first 100 years described it as "a country town." On Thursday, a clock donated by the Tecumseh Kiwanis Club and installed at Adams Park next to city hall will be dedicated. Its inscription continues the "country town" description and adds, "and still growing."
Planning for the bicentennial celebration that began toward the end of 2022 will reach fruition starting Thursday, July 18, and continuing through Sunday, July 21.
Several committees have worked on the many activities that will take place, and the passion of those leading the committees for what they're doing has made the work easier, bicentennial committee chair Vicki Riddle said.
"Everybody has their own little niche that they've really stepped up in filling that position," she said.
The organizers were pleasantly surprised with how the community has supported the event. Riddle said they had hoped to raise $20,000 in financial support, and have raised almost $80,000.
"People are just genuinely excited," Riddle said. "I'm at the farmers market every Saturday, and I have people that talk about it and say, 'Oh, yeah, all the kids are coming home.' People that left here as young adults are coming home for it."
One activity, a retrospective display on the history of the Tecumseh Products Co. and the Herrick family, will run all four days at the Underwood-Orr American Legion post at the corner of South Evans and West Pottawatamie streets. It will run from 2 to 6 p.m. Thursday, noon to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2 to 6 p.m. Sunday.
On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the Tecumseh Area Historical Society have planned an assortment of programs, and Pat Van Camp and Dan Meikle will give walking tours of downtown Tecumseh. The one-hour tours will meet in front of the Old National Bank branch at 205 E. Chicago Blvd. Friday's tour is at 7 p.m., Saturday's is at 1 p.m., and Sunday's is at 3 p.m.
Activities scheduled for Friday and Saturday are a History and Culture Palooza at Tecumseh High School; a historic art show from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the former Carnegie Library, 304 W. Chicago Blvd., and Tecumseh First Presbyterian Church, 211 W. Chicago Blvd.; and the annual Summer Beach Party featuring sand sculptures in the downtown area.
The History and Culture Palooza will be from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and will include a student art show, an open microphone concert, a timeline display of Tecumseh history in the sculpture garden, THS alumni activities including a sports Wall of Fame and a yearbook display, and hands-on historical demonstrations such as yarn dyeing, flintknapping, soap making, spinning and weaving. The timeline features 53 stops with photos and information about key events and people in Tecumseh's history.
Promenade Tecumseh home tours return Saturday and Sunday with eight locations:
301 W. Kilbuck St., a former school building that is now a residence.
206 W. Chicago Blvd.
208 W. Chicago Blvd.
212 S. Union St.
108 S. Oneida St.
215 W. Shawnee St.
316 W. Pottawattamie St.
509 E. Logan St.
The houses will be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets are $20, cash only, and can be bought the day of the tour from docents at the homes or at the Tecumseh Area Historical Museum, 302 E. Chicago Blvd., aka the "old stone church."
The museum will host Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War reenactors and Frank E. Kuron, author of "Thus Fell Tecumseh," from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Also taking place from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday are visits with a reenactor portraying Abigail "Abi" Evans, wife of Musgrove Evans, at the Evans' former home at 411 E. Logan St.
On Saturday and Sunday, Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, 108 Brown St., will host historical activities from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., including a quilt show and a presentation of woodland Native American culture with Tom Netz. The building originally was Tecumseh's North Branch School, then became Brownville School in 1932 when Henry Ford bought it. The church was built around the school building.
Tours of Brookside Cemetery are being offered on Saturday, but tickets are required and both tour times are sold out. According to information shared by the Tecumseh Area Historical Society on its Facebook page, tickets are not available from any other sources and any tickets being offered for sale now are likely a scam.
A fireworks show at Tecumseh High School will finish activities on Saturday. People will be able to watch the show from the football stadium and elsewhere around the school. The field will be open, but only blankets will be allowed. No seating, such as lawn chairs, will be allowed on the field in order to avoid damaging the artificial turf. People attending the show at the school must enter off Brown Street, as the drive off Chicago Boulevard will be closed for safety during the show.
Other activities take place either Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday.
"People should take a look at the schedule and map out what they want to do for the weekend," Riddle said.
Thursday, July 18
Local History Theater: Charles Manley, Tecumseh Products Co. & More: 10:30 a.m. to noon, Tecumseh District Library, 215 N. Ottawa St.
Local History Theater: Lillian Buttolph: Henry Ford Schools, Tecumseh Public Schools & More: 1 to 2 p.m., Tecumseh District Library, 215 N. Ottawa St.
Tecumseh Products Co. retrospective and employee reunion: 2 to 6 p.m., American Legion post, 101 W. Pottawatamie St.
Kiwanis clock dedication: 5:30 p.m., Adams Park.
Music in the Park: 6 to 8 p.m., Adams Park, River Raisin Ragtime Revue.
Classic car and bike show: 6 to 8 p.m., downtown.
Friday
South Evans Street will be closed between Chicago Boulevard and Pottawatamie Street starting at 8 a.m.
Historic art show: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., former Carnegie Library, 304 W. Chicago Blvd., and Tecumseh First Presbyterian Church, 211 W. Chicago Blvd.
Summer Beach Party and sand sculptures: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., downtown.
"God Is My Landlord": 11 a.m. to noon; Tecumseh Historical Museum, 302 E. Chicago Blvd. Tecumseh businessman Perry Hayden, a Quaker who operated the Hayden Feed Mill, wrote a book in 1947 titled "God Is My Landlord." It chronicled the "Dynamic Kernels" experiment he started in 1940, which was supported by Henry Ford and showed the power of tithing when applied to farming.
Tecumseh Products retrospective and employee reunion: noon to 8 p.m., American Legion post, 101 W. Pottawatamie St.
Tecumseh, Michigan: Ford's Education, Industry and Rural Promotion: 2 to 3:30 p.m., Tecumseh Historical Museum, 302 E. Chicago Blvd., a presentation by Debra Reid, curator of agriculture and the environment at The Henry Ford museum in Dearborn.
Native American powwow dancing demonstration: 3 to 3:45 p.m. and 5 to 5:45 p.m., Adams Park, next to city hall. Reg Pettibone, a full-blooded Native American from the Ho-Chunk Nation in Wisconsin, with his wife, Marca, of the Paiute Nation, and their two adult daughters, educates and entertains through narration and dance.
Reflections and Recollections: A Video Scrapbook: 4 to 4:45 p.m., Tecumseh Historical Museum, 302 E. Chicago Blvd.
History and Cultural Palooza: 6 to 8:30 p.m., Tecumseh High School, 760 Brown St.
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Cornhole tournament and block party with live music: 6 to 10 p.m., southwest downtown parking lot.
Promenade Downtown walking tours: 7 to 8 p.m., meet in front of the Old National Bank branch, 205 E. Chicago Blvd.
Saturday, July 20
Parade: 10 a.m. The route starts at the corner of South Maumee and East Patterson streets. The parade will head north on Maumee Street to Chicago Boulevard, then go west to South Union Street, then south to West Patterson Street and back to Maumee Street.
Historic art show: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., former Carnegie Library, 304 W. Chicago Blvd., and Tecumseh First Presbyterian Church, 211 W. Chicago Blvd.
Summer Beach Party and sand sculptures: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., downtown.
Early Industry in Tecumseh with Ed Hodges: 11 a.m. to noon, Tecumseh Historical Museum, 302 E. Chicago Blvd.
Tractor show: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Scout Cabin, 209 S. Ottawa St.
Classic car show: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., former Tecumseh Products Co. parking lot on South Evans Street between East Patterson and East Cummins streets.
Promenade Tecumseh homes tour: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eight houses are on the tour.
Historical reenactor and Native American displays: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, 108 Brown St.
American Legion barbecue lunch: noon to 2 p.m., American Legion post, 101 W. Pottawatamie St.
Southern Michigan Rail Road train rides: noon to 5 p.m., downtown, free.
Tecumseh Products retrospective and employee reunion: noon to 8 p.m., American Legion post, 101 W. Pottawatamie St.
Downtown music — live concerts: noon to 8 p.m., South Evans Street. The Scottville Clown Band and local musicians are scheduled to perform.
Promenade downtown walking tours: 1 to 2 p.m., meet in front of the Old National Bank branch, 205 E. Chicago Blvd.
Coffee roasting demonstration: 1 to 3 p.m., Musgrove and Co. coffee shop, 135 E. Chicago Blvd.
Taft presidential visit reenactment and train rides: 2 to 3 p.m., Hotrum Park at the corner of North Evans Street and West Shawnee Street. In 1910, President Howard Taft spoke for about one minute in Tecumseh while traveling by train from Monroe to Jackson.
Presentation on Tecumseh history: 2 to 3 p.m., Tecumseh Historical Museum, 302 E. Chicago Blvd. Local historian Ashley Chase will give a presentation focused on what was happening in Tecumseh in the the 1950s and 1960s.
Visit with Abi Evans: 2 to 4 p.m., former Evans home, 411 E. Logan St.
Tecumseh, the CD: 4 to 4:45 p.m., Tecumseh Historical Museum, 302 E. Chicago Blvd.
History and Cultural Palooza: 6 to 8:30 p.m., Tecumseh High School, 760 Brown St.
Food Truck Rally: 6 to 9:30 p.m., Tecumseh High School.
Fireworks: Dusk, Tecumseh High School.
Sunday, July 21
Ecumenical church service and "Dynamic Kernels" presentation: 11 a.m., Riverbend Friends Church, 9500 Tecumseh-Clinton Highway.
100 Years of Tecumseh Postcards with Diane Proctor: 11 a.m. to noon, Tecumseh Historical Museum, 302 E. Chicago Blvd.
Promenade Tecumseh homes tour: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eight houses are on the tour.
Historical reenactor and Native American displays: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, 108 Brown St.
Historic baseball game: noon to 2 p.m., Tecumseh Middle School baseball field at North Evans and North Ottawa streets. Watch the Brownstown Volunteers and the Mount Clemens Regulars play with rules and uniforms as they were in 1867. The Dodworth Saxhorn Band will perform. The band regularly plays at the base ball games at Greenfield Village in Dearborn.
Early Industry in Tecumseh with Ed Hodges: 2 to 3 p.m., Tecumseh Historical Museum, 302 E. Chicago Blvd.
Visit with Abi Evans: 2 to 4 p.m., former Evans home, 411 E. Logan St.
Tecumseh Products retrospective and employee reunion: 2 to 6 p.m., American Legion post, 101 W. Pottawatamie St.
"WTCA Radio Show" featuring the TCA Big Band and Tecumseh Community Chorus: two shows at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., Tecumseh Center for the Arts, 400 N. Maumee St. Admission is free. General admission tickets can be reserved online at thetca.org or at the Tecumseh Center for the Arts box office by calling 517-423-6617 or in person between noon and 5 p.m. on Thursday or Friday or one hour before the show. The comedic show explores Tecumseh's history, present and future and is inspired by radio shows of yesteryear and NPR's "Prairie Home Companion."
— Contact reporter David Panian at [email protected] or follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @lenaweepanian.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Tecumseh bicentennial weekend is June 18-21
