MSU Libraries

Ionia, Ionia County, Michigan Terr’y. Published by Pendletons Lithography in Boston in 1835, probably for Nathaniel Brown.

This map shows a thriving town site.  The only problem was that it was a complete fiction.  The real Ionia, Michigan, Seat of Ionia County, had been placed two miles west of this site in 1833.

At the time the map was made in 1835, half of the square-mile section had been purchased by Chicago-based land speculator Nathaniel Brown.  The other half was still owned by the Federal Government.  Brown had the idea of a sawmill anchoring a community that...

Beginning in the nineteenth century, immigrants to Michigan massively changed the landscape through logging, farming, draining wetlands, building roads, cities, and planting managed landscapes.  Prior to that Native Americans used fire and other methods to alter the landscape, though on a much smaller scale.  When you stand in your front yard, the 'natural' vegetation you see is likely quite different from what stood in 1800 especially if you live in the southern part of the state.  So what kinds of trees or other landcover naturally grew in your area long ago?  A group of scholars teamed...

From 1850-1856, James Jesse Strang (image below) lived on Beaver Island as a self-appointed king among the Mormon adherents who declared allegiance to him after the death of Joseph Smith.  Strang commanded a loyal following from his congregants but it often brought the Strangite Mormons into conflict with the judiciary in Mackinac.  These disagreements drove the Mormons to seek local and state political office and culminated in the election of Strang as a state legislator.  It was through this office that Strang would seek to change the fortunes of his community and alter the geography of...

This three hour workshop gives participants the opportunity to learn QGIS, the free and open source geospatial software package. The workshop content revolves around solving a research/planning question using data about Detroit. Skills included in the workshop are making a color-shaded choropleth map, sub-setting data, using census data, geocoding within QGIS, joining datasets, creating buffers and more. If you have taken other library workshops on QGIS, this workshop will review and build on your skills.  If you are totally unfamiliar with QGIS this workshop will give you a solid ...