The Edison House Project
Photo Album
Preservation Fund
Many people driving down Three Mile Road between Walker and Bristol
the past few years are wondering who is moving into that big, white
farmhouse. It actually is going to be the new home of the Walker
Historical Museum. It will be known as the Edison House, named after the
family who originally developed the plat in the late 1830’s. The family
was also gracious enough to donate the house, which was built in 1890 to
the City for the use as a Historical Museum. What is just as exciting is
the ongoing development of the grounds around the house into a new City
Park, which will be know as Spring Hill Park (which is the original
Edison Farm name). The grounds will feature walking trails, flower and
vegetable gardens, a woodshed that will be recreated to its original
design from the old Edison farm, as well as a public gathering place
that will be able to hold a few hundred people.
Renovations are currently under way in the Edison House. Quality
Edge, a local Walker company (and neighbor to the Edison House) have
recently donated the costs of material and labor to redo the roof and
reside the entire house. This job would have cost in excess of one
hundred thousand dollars ($100,000).
We have also recently received a substantial donation
in the amount of five thousand dollars ($5,000) from the Tech Group, a
new medical instrument manufacturer, located in the North Wilson
Industrial Park plat. We are sincerely thankful to the Tech Group for
it's willingness to help preserve Walker's history with its' generous
donation. We are planning to use this money to restore the windows in
the house.
Three local companies: Allied Electric, Contract Electric, and
Houseman Construction have all graciously donated time and the people
necessary to complete the initial phase of the project.
To have all of these businesses step forward in giving back to the
community really provides support to the City's motto of "From solid
roots...strong branches." Our heartfelt gratitude goes out to these
icons of the Walker community.
The most recent work that has been done is the water and sewer hook
up. The piping and connections had to be run all the way from Three Mile
Road to the Edison House and into the basement. These will eventually be
connected for indoor plumbing. There has also been a great deal of work
done to the exterior grounds by local Eagle Scouts and the City of
Walker Department of Public Works employees. In addition, a local
business, Tepper Nursery donated some very nice, fast growing trees to
be placed at the Edison House.
Many people have asked how are we paying for the restoration? Most of
the money will come in the form of grants from the state and federal
government as they relate to historical preservation and the new city
park. Additional monies will be gained from private donations and
funding from charitable foundations. However, those activities all take
some time and the community is very anxious to see this project open up
for use. So what we have done is begin the process of establishing the
Edison House as a non-profit 501 C3 organization. This will allow us to
apply for grant monies, as well as other sources of charitable income
that we currently cannot utilize.
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 The City
of Walker, Michigan
4243 Remembrance Rd. NW
Walker, MI 49534
(616)453-6311
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Walker
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