FHS preserves and promotes unique history of Fallasburg for future generations

By Emma Palova - Contributing Writer

22 July 2025

The Fallasburg Historical Society (FHS) was officially founded on May 15, 1965. It emerged from the earlier formation of the West Central Historical Society (WCHS), focusing on preserving the historic village of Fallasburg. The village is located six miles north of Lowell.

While there is no single founder, several key individuals helped shape the FHS in its early years. Among these were Leonora Tower, the first president of the WCHS. The founding group included local history enthusiasts and preservationists from around Lowell and Vergennes Township, who converted their focus to Fallasburg.

Among the FHS early projects were the adaptation of the 1867 one-room schoolhouse into a museum and hosting community events.

In the 1970s and 1980s, the FHS volunteers focused on the schoolhouse’s adaptive reuse and basic site maintenance. In March of 1999, the Fallasburg Village Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

“Our pride and joy is the school house built in 1867,” FHS President, Bruce Doll said. “It was used until 1961.” And one of its former students, Tom Vaughan, is a current FHS board member.

The Fallasburg Fall Festival was launched in 1968 by the WCHS as a fundraiser for restoration efforts; it featured local crafts, refreshments, period costumes and a mother-daughter picnic. Over time, this event evolved into today’s Fallasburg Arts Festival, organized by Lowell Arts.

In 1971, Leonora Tower commissioned a detailed scale model of Fallasburg Village, crafted by Bill Barber, to mark the centennial of the Covered Bridge and to help promote Fallasburg’s historic story. There was also a major centennial celebration of the bridge’s construction, combined with exhibitions and public events.

Later decades saw more ambitious projects, like the complete restoration of the Tower Farmhouse, which was a multi-decade effort, culminating in its reopening in February of 2021.

Today, the FHS is a vibrant organization with 100 regular members led by 11 board members, with President Doll at its helm. Two of the board members, Carrie Elzinga and Scott Dykstra, live directly in the village of Fallasburg.

Dolls main goal is to get people to know about the historic village, which is a great resource for children and adults alike. “Our mission is to preserve and promote the unique history for future generations,” he said.

Currently, the FHS maintains seven historical buildings in the village, plus, to a certain extent, the Covered Bridge, which is officially maintained by the Kent County Road Commission

There’s always plenty to do around the village, from cleaning gutters, tree work, lighting, new furnaces and better technology to move things along. “To do things right the first-time costs money,” Doll said. “We have the Fallasburg Summer Celebration to raise money for maintenance, plus, we utilize grants.” Grants from the Lowell Community Fund help improve technology and HVAC system.

The FHS members try to be out and about in the community at various events, like the Riverwalk and the Fallasburg Art Festivals;, as much as possible. The FHS organizes school and senior group visits to the village annually; in the fall there is the popular paranormal ghost tour, which usually sells out. In the spring, a ring fire took the place of the classical bonfire. At the end of the school year, Murray Lake Elementary students are treated to a trip to historic Fallasburg with guide, former President, Ken Tamke.

For the first time this year, the FHS will be participating in Christmas Through Lowell (CTL) featuring local authors in the schoolhouse and other buildings, which all have climate control. Two buildings, the school house and Misner, have fiber internet from Point Broadband.

Great assets to the historic village portfolio are the barns; The Tower Barn was named Barn of the Year in 2014 by the Michigan Barn Preservation Network and the Fallas Barn sits at the foot of the hill.

The cataloging of artifacts continues into what is known as Collective Access on https://collection.fallasburg.org/

For more info, to donate or volunteer go to https://www.fallasburg.org/