Shepherd, MI – The Shepherd Area Historical Society, a non-profit dedicated to the preservation of history for the surrounding community, is currently seeking help covering the cost of repairing the roof on its Powerhouse Museum.
The Shepherd Village Powerhouse Museum is an old electric power station located in Shepherd, Michigan. It was built between 1908 and 1909 and was the village’s first electric plant and water pumping station. A 35 kilowatt coal gas engine powered both and it operated from 1909 to 1912. The building received outside electricity between 1913 until 1925, when Consumers Power bought it. Operations ceased at that time. A portion of the building was used as the village council hall until 1957.
The building now contains three floors of artifacts and is often opened up to the general public for tours. It also serves as a meeting space for the society.
Repairs to the roof on the building’s annex are slated to start this Fall at an estimated cost of $30,000. Donations can be submitted to the Shepherd Area Historical Society either via a GoFundme page or check sent to:
Shepherd Area Historical Society
P.O. Box 505
Shepherd, MI 48883
The Shepherd Area Historical Society was formed in 1978 to preserve and honor the history of the Shepherd and Salt River area. The Society maintains files, scrapbooks, and historical data on many families local to the Salt River and Shepherd villages. In addition to the Powerhouse Museum, the Society manages the Little Red Schoolhouse located on Hall Street.
# # #
If you would like more information about efforts to repair the Powerhouse Museum roof, please contact Larry Noyes, president, at (989) 828-5319 or noylg47@yahoo.com; or Jon Morgan, vice president, at (989) 488-8207 or 32bpwr3@gmail.com. Website: http://www.shepherdareahistoricalsociety.org.