Grand Rapids, Muskegon, Shelby

Perhaps the greatest legislative act of the Confederation Congress, the Northwest Ordinance, declared that states would be carved from the territories that were won from Great Britain in the War of Independence. The Act created a template for the expansion of the United States westward. Michigan became the largest state carved from that Territory, a land of Great Lakes, great beauty, agricultural production, and unprecedented industrial innovation. Michigan’s history is too broad and complex to take in on one tour, but we aim to explore an area which tells the story of the “Wolverine State” in miniature. We will explore Michigan history from Muskegon’s shores to Oceana County’s farmland, to Grand Rapids, the second most populous city in Michigan.

Due in large measure to Dutch and German immigration, that region of Michigan at one time was considered the most Christianized area of the United States, with hundreds of churches, five Christian Universities, three seminaries, and major Christian publishing houses such as Zondervan, Kregel, Eerdmans, Baker, Daily Bread, and Reformation Heritage. Grand Rapids was also home to President of the United States, Gerald Ford.

Join Landmark Events and historian Dr. Bill Potter as we explore this history-rich region, which has contributed so much to the State of Michigan and to the United States. If you haven’t been there before, you have missed out on interesting and important people of the past and present and if you have visited before, you know why we are eager to see the providence of God in that part of our country.

In the City of Grand Rapids, we will visit the Gerald Ford Presidential Museum, a beautiful state of the art presentation of the history of the life and times of Gerald R. Ford, which features a full detailed history of his World War II heroics in the Pacific, highly respected service as House Minority Leader, and his distinction of serving as both Vice-President and President, though never elected to either office!

We will also visit the publishing House of Reformation Heritage Books, the premier American publisher of Puritan and Reformed books in the world, where we will learn about the world of book publishing and the ministries for which printing has been a part since the Protestant Reformation. The tour will include a visit to the RHB bookshop.

The City of Muskegon is home to World War II Gato-Class Submarine Silversides, SS236. She was one of the most successful American submarines in the Pacific theatre of the war, sinking more than 90,000 tons of shipping in 23 confirmed sinkings over fourteen patrols. The Silversides received the presidential Unit Citation to go along with its twelve Battle Stars. Duck the passageways, smell the oil, imagine the crises, the attacks, and the dives as we board and traverse this magnificent artifact of the war.

Muskegon also boasts of their Veterans Museum which features USS LST 393, one of only two surviving “landing Ship Tank” (LSTs) of the 1,0051 that were built for the Navy in the Second World War. Constructed by Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia in 1942, this monster was a model of the largest ships designed to deliver hundreds of soldiers, several tanks, and cargo onto hostile beaches. This LST was awarded three battle stars, which included the D-Day landings on Normandy.

Before the auto industry of the Detroit area, the state was already famous for its agriculture, mineral deposits and lumber industry. The fascinating stories behind the Charles Hackley and Thomas Hume lumber baron families of Muskegon are best told in and through their beautiful Victorian mansions from the 1890s to 1920s. These architectural wonders tell the story of entrepreneurial lumber mill owners who joined the ranks of philanthropists who employed thousands and made Muskegon one of the prominent cities of the Midwest.

We will tour the astonishing state-of-the-art Country Dairy in the agriculturally rich region of Oceana County. As they happily advertise, Explore the Farm. Experience the Colors. Enjoy the cows. From the Belgian draft horses to the robotic milking system, we will join ice-cream aficionado Pastor Jeff Swanson’s personal tour of this farming marvel, a multi-generational Christian dairy farm in the heart of rural Michigan. Farming has been the backbone of America’s existence and success and this tour will remind us of both how and why.