Our unique community has the privilege of housing the Clinton County Historical Museum at the Paine-Gillam-Scott House, as well as the Clinton County Arts Council, and the Briggs District Library.
The City of St. Johns is just twenty (20) miles north of Lansing, the center of many arts and cultural activities.
Clinton County Historical Museum at the Paine-Gillam-Scott House
The Clinton County Historical Museum Paine-Gillam-Scott House has announced their 2023 season: Our Town: The Way We Were.
Volunteers have been busy creating an exhibit that will engage every visitor as we explore the history of St Johns from 1860 to 1999. Tons of artifacts; photographs and print from books and newspapers will give our visitors a glimpse of what life in St Johns was like during those 140 years or so.
The Museum will open on Wednesday, May17 from 2:00 PM until 5:00 PM.
2023 hours will be Wednesdays from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM and Sundays from 1:00 to 4:00 PM.
The museum is located at 106 Maple St. in St Johns. For more information please call 989-224-2894 or visit www.pgsmusem.com.
Clinton County Historical Museum
The Archives of the Clinton County Historical Society is available to anyone researching families and history of Clinton County and is open at 16101 Brook Rd, Lansing, MI. Hours are Monday and Tuesday 9 to 4, and Thursday 2 to 6. Contact 517.482.5117 x 2, or email ccgensoc@yahoo.com. Membership in the Archives ($20.00) includes a very interesting quarterly Newsletter "Clinton County Trails".
Clinton County Historical Society
Meets the first Monday of the month at 1:00 P.M., November through March; and at 7:00 P.M., April through October. Meetings are held at the First United Methodist Church, 200 E. State St., St. Johns.
For anyone needing additional information, send requests to CCHS, P.O. Box 174, St. Johns, MI 48879.
Clinton County Historical Society consists of the Museum and the Archives. The mission statement of the Clinton County Historical Museum is to maintain the complex related to and typical of the Clinton County history, to provide education, and encourage community involvement. Any skills and time you have that would fit the mission, i.e. computer skills, publicity, community awareness, document sorting and cataloging, textile preservation, displays, presentations, cleaning, maintenance (outside and inside), docent duty, etc., would be greatly appreciated. Please contact pgsmuseum@gmail.com or call 989-292-9096. We are located at 106 Maple in St. Johns and plan on reopening for the Mint Festival, August 14 and 15, 1pm-4pm, with the remaining year’s schedule to be determined.
The Archives is the keeper of documents and photos that represent the history and residents of Clinton County. If you have free time and an interest in keeping history available and accessible, please contact Julie Peters at 989-501-0599 or petersj@msu.edu. There is always a need for computer skills (from home or at the Archives), filing, copying and research. You can check out our webpage at www.dewittlibrary.org/CCHS to see the types of things we do.
To assist the mission, donations and membership are needed. Dues for the Museum are $25.00 and the Archives $20. Both can be mailed to PO Box 174, St. Johns, MI 48879.
We are strictly a volunteer group, and the reward of knowing you are helping history stay alive is great! Thank you for your consideration and support.
RODNEY B. WILSON HIGH SCHOOL COLLAGE PHOTOS UPDATE…
After the sale of the former Rodney B. Wilson High School/Junior High School building, the Clinton County Historical Society was fortunate to obtain the framed collage photos from the graduating classes of 1925, 1941, 1945-1967, that had been hanging along the hallways for so many years. Central School was the high school before RBW was built for the 1925 graduating class. We also have the whole school photo from 1921 taken at Central School.
The frames are well worn and of the many individual photos they contain, less than five are missing. It has been decided that to make these accessible to the community, CCHS has had them digitized. For a donation you can obtain a digital file to use as you wish. (A print would make a great placemat at a reunion.)
To obtain a file, you will need to contact CCHS to arrange the file transfer. Contact the Museum at pgsmuseum.com, or 989.292.9096 or the Archives at petersj@msu.edu .
Clinton County Arts Council
http://www.clintoncountyarts.org/
Hosts events, projects, programming, and more, such as Concert in the Park series, Homegrown Productions and our Mint City Singers!
Gallery Hours:
Open Tuesday - Friday 10:00 A.M. - 5:30 P.M. Open Saturday 10:00 A.M. - 2:00 P.M.
Concerts in the Park
The popular summer “Concert in the Park” series, sponsored by the Clinton County Arts Council and the City of St. Johns, will open its season on June 12th.
2024 Concert in the Park Series
June 12 The Jack Clarkson Band - Great Variety: Country, Bluegrass, Gospel, Tex-Mex, etc.
Featuring Kathy Ford & Rodney Page
June 19 The Saline Fiddlers – America’s Premier Youth Fiddling Show Band – Fun Evening
June 26 The Detroit Retro Society – Experience the Great Sounds of Detroit from the Best
July 3 Full Cord – Award-Winning Denver/W. Michigan Bluegrass Band – Incredible Band
July 10 The Capitol City Chordsmen – Mid-Michigan’s Barbershop Chorus w/Quartets
July 17 Fly2K – Direct from Nashville, TN - A High Energy 1990-2000 Hits Party Band
featuring St. Johns own Bear Mitchell & Rachel Thompson Mitchell
July 24 Toppermost – A Wonderful Evening’s Tribute to the most Amazing Beatles
July 31 The Dave Bennett Quartet –The Best of Everything from Jazz, Swing, Rock & Pops
Aug 7 The Schrock Bros Band – West Michigan’s Amazing Americana/Blues Band
Featuring Grammy Award winner Peter Madcat Ruth
Aug 14 Surf Zup – Iconic Surf Guitar Hits from the 60’s played on Authentic Instruments
Aug 21 The Blueflowers – A Detroit Americana/Indi Rock Band featuring Kate Hinote
Aug 28 Denise Davis and the Motor City Sensations – Motown, Gospel, R&B, Blues, YES!
The series will be held at the William E. Tennant Performance Shell in the beautiful St. Johns City Park. All concerts begin at 7:00 p.m. rain or shine. The Lions Club food trailer will be available this year – social distancing and safety precautions are encouraged. The CCAC receives funding from the Michigan Arts & Culture Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.
St. Johns Community Band
Contact Roy Davis at 989-227-4273 for information on how to join.