Algonac Clay Historical Society - History Of Bostwick Building

This Greek Revival home was built by Charles H. Beers around 1849.

Dr. Thomas L. Stringer located his office in the building from 1894 thru 1913. He moved his practice to the west side of the street (then known as Water St. south of Clay).

In 1914 it became the home & office of Dr. Walter E. Bostwick. After his death in 1943, his widow Cordelia lived in the home until her death in 1948.

In 1949 the Clay Township Library moved into the main part of the building. The Clay Township offices occupied the north wing with a room used by the St. Clair Count Health Department.

When the Clay Township offices moved into another building, the library renovated and used all the area. As the population increased in the area, so did the use of the library. When there was no more room for expansion to accommodate their needs, they found a new facility.

The City of Algonac and the Township of Clay leased this building to the Algonac / Clay Township Historical Society.

With funding from both governmental units and fund raising by the Historical Society the building was again renovated by a group of dedicated volunteers for a community museum.

The Algonac / Clay Historical Society opened the community museum on May 26, 1997. A museum committee meets on a regular basis to accept donations of artifacts pertaining to the area. They are then assigned an accession number, marked for identification, cataloged and either put on exhibit or stored for a future display. The details of the artifacts are put into a computer program with the donor information, a location and classification. A committee plans exhibits, gathers the artifacts and then puts it all together. The goal is to change our exhibits in a timely manner so our museum gets a fresh look and you will want to return again and again.