Butterfield Memorial Research Library
Bay County Historical Society
321 Washington Avenue
Bay City, MI 48708
(517) 893-5733
Visit Us to Do Your Own Research
Library hours: Tuesday, Wednesday
and Thursday 1-5pm
(closed major holidays and inclement weather)
Library is staffed by
volunteers and will be closed if one is not on duty.
We make every effort to keep
the library open, however last minute problems sometimes arise.
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It is strongly suggested that anyone with travel or
time constraints please call before their intended visit to make sure that
there is a librarian on duty.
Please feel welcome to
visit us during our open hours. A volunteer research librarian will assist your efforts
and possibly provide additional resource information. Photocopies of some items are available for a
fee.
Or Submit a Written Research Request
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We answer only written requests using our form
or a letter of request that gives as much detail as possible about the
topic you wish us to research.
We do not answer requests
over the phone, faxed requests or e-mail requests.
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A fee is charged for all research that we complete,
including research time, photocopies and postage. You will be billed when
we complete your research, however some larger requests may require a deposit
before we can start. Requests can take up to a month to complete and some
may even take longer.
Current Fees:
Research: $5.00 for
first hour and $4.00 for every hour thereafter (to the nearest quarter
hour).
Postage: The cost
of one stamp is included in the Research Cost, anything after is billed.
Photocopies: (per
copy) .20 for letter, .25 for legal, .40 for I I xl 7.
Please send request letters
to the above address, or write or call to request our research request
form. A packet that includes cemetery information, governmental locations
and other useful information on historical and genealogical research is
also available upon request.
Research items of interest
in the
Butterfield Memorial Research
Library
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The Butterfield Memorial Research Library is a non-circulatiiig
reference research library with topics relating primarily to Bay City/Bay
County history.
A substantial holding of
Bay City Polk Directories dating to 1866
Insurance maps of Bay City
of various years from 1890's to 1960
Birdseye maps of Bay City
from 1879 and 1891
Local maps and plats from over
150 years of Bay County development, including
several rare plats of Bay
City prior to the lumbering era.
*Aerial photographs from the 1930's.
Major histories of Bay County
dating back to 1875.
*City and County supervisors
and common council minutes from the late 1800's through the 1970's.
Genealogical materials, including
over 100 local family genealogies.
Local business records representing
all aspects of Commerce and Industry.
*Blueprints, drawings and other
records pertaining to local architecture and architects.
*Postcards, photographs and
other media depicting all aspects of Bay City/County life from the middle 1800's
to the present.
Materials on Architecture
and historic preservation and restoration of historic structures.
*Patrol Craft Sailors Association
Archival Collection (WVM Naval History)
*Monitor Sugar Corporate Archives
(Sugar processing corporation)
*Please note that we are
currently in the process of reorganizing portions of our collection, and
some materials are not accessible for research at this time (Jan. 1999).
We plan to make these materials accessible as they are finished and time
warrants, so if you have a specific type of article you are looking for
(such as photographs), please call before visiting to find out whether
or not they are available.
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