On April 4, 1881, Macomb County appropriated $10,000 for a new jail and sheriff’s residence to be constructed in Mount Clemens. The prior jail, built in 1852, was constructed out of stones from the Clinton and Kalamazoo Canal.  Nicknamed “the Bastille,” it was located on Market Street directly across the street from today’s St. Mary’s Catholic School.  State inspections reported it to be “low, damp, dark and unhealthy,” and replacement was essential.

Born and raised in Clinton Township, Vincent Ivor Mitchell was the son of Norman and Louisa (Applewhaite) Mitchell, both from British Guiana. Mitchell graduated from Mount Clemens High School in 1940 and trained at the Tuskegee Army Airfield where he graduated in 1944.

In 2018, the Anton Art Center awarded more than $44,000 in mini-grants to 19 organizations and individuals in Macomb and Oakland County. The grants, which are made possible through the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, support arts and culture programming and professional or organizational development. This funding is essential for small nonprofits, educational institutions and individuals working in the arts. It allows them to pursue opportunities that enrich our local communities, making them vibrant, desirable places to live, work and play.

Born in Mount Clemens on June 11, 1881, Alice Louise Tucker was the first woman elected to public office in Macomb County. She was the daughter of John and Agnes (Lacey) Tucker and a descendant of William Tucker, the first English-speaking landowner in Macomb County. William had settled his family on the banks of the Huron (now Clinton) River in 1784 and was the owner of the Denison family who served as slaves on the Tucker farm.

Along with his growing family, Sylvester Barbret made Macomb his home in 1921.  He had a small farm west of Gratiot off 11 Mile in what became the City of Roseville.

For me there are a lot of things that just can’t be duplicated. Many of them are from my childhood, my Great Aunt Katie is one. Around her, my brother and I definitely sat up straight, elbows off the table and knew what every utensil was for – right down to the condiment fork. And apparently I can’t duplicate the beautiful books she gave us either – classics like Wind In the Willows. Treasure Island and Arabian Nights. Hardcovers with dust jackets and engraved illustrations. Books like that you just don’t see in the stores anymore.