Become A Member!

If you are interested in becoming a member of the Lyons-Muir Historical Society, please Click Here to download the Adobe Acrobat pdf file of the brochure.

Annual dues are only $15, so please consider joining today!

History of the Lyons-Muir Historical Society

by Ashley Scheurer
great-granddaughter of Wilma Ackerson

The Lyons-Muir Historical Society first started on Feb. 22, 1979 in Lyons, Michigan, by Suzanne Bell, Holly Treadway, and Richard Hull. The first meeting for the public was April 23, 1979, at the Muir Civic Center. Now, many years later, the same society that was started in 1979 is still going strong with many dedicated members.

The goals of the society are to:
• preserve local landmarks
• and collect items of past history of the area for future generations.

Today, we have the Lyons-Muir Historical Museum and monthly meetings are held at either the museum or at a member’s home.

Many people enjoy going to the museum to see things such as old high school pictures from both the Lyons and Muir schools, dating through 1941 for Muir High School and through 1963 for Lyons High School.

“We also have Spanish-American War memorabilia,” said Wilma Ackerson, president of the society and a graduate of the 50th graduating class from Muir High School. “One of the longest-living Spanish-American War veterans, Harry Gardner, lived in Lyons, and his daughter donated what we have.” Visitors also like to hear about how things were done “back then” and to see how Lyons and Muir have changed over the years. The museum can be visited by contacting Louise Cook or Wilma Ackerson.

Interesting Facts About Lyons and Muir

• The village of Muir was founded in 1854 by Ambrose Soule, Benjamin Soule, Judge Robinson and Byron Robinson, who laid out the town and erected a sawmill. The logs were sent down Fish Creek to the Maple River and then to the Grand River to get them to the steam-operated mill in Muir.

• There was a popular stage route from Detroit to Grand Rapids, via Lansing, Lyons and Ionia, in the days of 1846 and after.

• The first newspaper published in Lyons and the second paper published in the county was the Lyons Herald, started in 1855.

Welcome To LyonsMuir.org!

DID YOU KNOW?
When the Lyons-Muir Historical Museum was dedicated on June 19, 1987, the keynote speaker was William Weisgerber of rural Ionia, whose grandfather operated a furniture manufacturing shop and a funeral parlor in Lyons near the turn of the century. “I can recall going to the movies on Saturday night, right over there,” he said, pointing to the area where the free movies were held in the summers of the 1930s and 1940s. “I feel such gratitude to the people of Lyons-Muir for preserving the heritage you have here.”