It’s easy to say that the impact of the Castle Museum Millage Renewal on August 3 is a small one. The renewal is for one-fifth of a mill and it means the owner of a $50,000 home would pay about five dollars per year while the owner of a home valued at $100,000 would pay about ten dollars per year.

I want to make this clear…in this economic climate; even that amount of money is tough for some folks to part with. But I’d like to explain why this is important to this community and why the millage deserves to be renewed.

For many years, the historical exhibits at the Castle Museum have attracted thousands of visitors…close to 15,000 every year. That’s a big draw for downtown Saginaw. The Castle building itself is an artifact, constructed in 1898 as a U.S. Post Office and renovated in 1937; it is also on the National Register of Historic Places. It is absolutely beautiful and in great shape!

Castle Museum events touch the lives of thousands of adults and children. There’s Jazz on Jefferson, Christmas at the Castle and our weekly Lunch and Learn presentations, to name just a few. Our exhibits contribute to culture in this region…exhibits like The American Soldier, The Saginaw NAACP-90 Years of History, Saginaw’s Wood Plank Road, and our newest acquisition—the 1914 Saginaw Cyclecar, manufactured in Saginaw and one of only two known to exist. Other exhibits include archaeology, lumbering, and one of the largest working model trains in the region.

At the Castle Museum, we believe history is for everyone and we strive to make this an affordable and quality attraction for residents of this county. And because many schools don’t have the funds to take kids on field trips, we came up with a mobile museum called History on the Move which travels to area schools at no charge.

The Castle Museum is a place where local historical artifacts are cared for and preserved for everyone to see. Our history is important for adults and vital for kids because if we don’t know where we came from, how can we make our way into the future?

Please support us on August 3^rd by voting “Yes” to renew the Castle Museum Millage. Thank you.