Local Group Champions Gingellville Heritage

Local group champions Gingellville heritage
'Friends' focus on historic marker, building preservation
BY STEVE KOWALSKI
STAFF WRITER

The Friends of Gingellville have a new ally and she works for the Michigan Historic Preservation Network.

Ellen Thackery, a field representative for the state organization, is the guest speaker at the next Friends of Gingellville meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 10, at GingellvilleCommunityChurch, 3920 Baldwin Road, OrionTownship.

Friends of Gingellville is hoping to secure a historic marker and preserve the Gingell House and Proper School, buildings which stand on the east side of Baldwin Road across from the Sunoco gas station, another historic property once owned by the Gingell brothers.

Susan Dorris, one of the founders of the Friends' group, said she met Thackery at a recent conference and Gingellville was the perfect ice-breaker.

"The fact that we've got a friend in Lansing now who understands some of the historic preservation issues we're facing can help us with the next steps," Dorris said. "We want to become the voice of the (Gingellville) community. About all we've got left of the history of that area is the ProperSchool and the Gingell House."

Gingellville, a hamlet in the southwest corner of OrionTownship, was founded before the Great Depression by Frank and Ella McVean Gingell, who together with their sons, Francis and Harold, built a town and developed a community, according to historians.

Acknowledgment of Gingellville as a historic district is important, Dorris said, because commercial and residential developments are changing the area's landscape by the day.

"Depending on how much money we raise it could be a very big marker, or it could be a very small marker," Dorris said. "We want to acknowledge the history and impact of the Gingell family."

In the northern end of Gingellville, at the intersection of Baldwin and Maybee roads, are two new developments -- the Village Square and Orion Village Crossing -- featuring commercial and residential buildings.

In the southern end, at the intersection of Gregory and Baldwin, a developer has proposed building condominiums, a bank, office complex and restaurant.

Thackery said she plans on reinforcing a sense of pride among the Friends of Gingellville, which included 40 people at its first meeting in the fall.

"It's critical for places like Gingellville throughout Michigan and the country, to appreciate what they have," Thackery said. "Often when people group up they don't realize the assets (their community) has. (Her goal is to) get them to see with new eyes the place they live. It's important to balance growth with preserving the small-town character."

Dorris said retaining ProperSchool and Gingell House, buildings that date back to the early part of the 20th century, would complement the new developments.

ProperSchool is currently owned by Christ the RedeemerChurch, which rents out part of the building to another church for services, and private citizens currently rent the Gingell House.

"We would like to see the school and home become part of the plans," she said. "We want to retain as much of the (Proper) building, if not the entire building. And we want the Gingell House to become the GingellvilleMuseum."

Among the agenda items on the next Friends' meeting is to make the group a nonprofit, 501(c)3 organization, Dorris said.

Originally published January 5, 2006