The beginning
As our country’s Bicentennial approached, a group of dedicated individuals from the community of Howell looked for a way to fund a celebration. They began the quest of gathering Howell’s history in photographs, stories, and interviews, then published a book. These interviews, stories and photographs were the seeds from which the Archives grew. After the celebration, the committee pl
aced $1,000 of the proceeds in trust with the City of Howell to fund the celebration in 2076 with the balance invested in setting up the Archives. Today
At 94 years of age, Duane Zemper, the last remaining member of the original Bicentennial committee continues to work tirelessly in the archives. His knowledge of the past as well as being the “unofficial” town photographer for over 40 years, gives him a personal insight to the past and its connection to our future. Our collection contains: family histories and genealogy - building and house - histories - school and athletic histories - high school yearbooks - land records and abstracts - marriages and anniversaries - census records and obituaries - war and church records - maps and plat books - historical photographs - telephone books - city directories - cemetery records - business and industry histories -
organizations - recreation and sports and much more.
