New display celebrates Benton Harbor's 150th birthday

A new birthday display honoring the city of Benton Harbor turning 150 was recognized Thursday in Berrien County.

The Benton Harbor Historical Preservation Society has been collecting artifacts and memories from community memories in order to build a display inside the Berrien County Administration Building in St. Joe.

The display will be up through mid-November; and then it will go on tour locally, inside classrooms and community events.

Benton Harbor Historical Preservation Society President, and founder, Michael Hoyh said recognizing the city’s history is of growing interest in the community.

“People are actually calling in and they’re going to our Facebook page [saying] that they want to contribute; that they have pieces that they’ve kept away and they didn’t know what to do with, because we really didn’t have a museum to put it together,” Hoyh said. “So that’s one of the things that I wanted to do, is to found a historical preservation society so they have places to gift these things to and pass them on to other generations for other people to share.”

Congressman Fred Upton was stopped by to check out the display.

“We need to remember how great [Benton Harbor] was; the people that were here," Upton said. "And one of the things that I am most proud about is working with the many local leaders and really seeing a rebirth, the rededication of Benton Harbor. You’re only as strong as the weakest community.”

If you’re interested in having the display come visit you at an event or at school, you can visit the Benton Harbor Historical Preservation Society’s Facebook page.