Grice House Museum, 19th-century house museum in Harbor Beach, Michigan
The Grice House Museum is a 19th-century house with nine rooms covering different themes, from maritime displays to military collections and local artifacts. The site spans three buildings with nearly 2,000 artifacts in total, including a barn for agricultural equipment.
James G. Grice, an English immigrant, built this house in the 1870s while working at the Rock Falls sawmill. The building survived the devastating Thumb Fire of 1881, one of the region's largest forest fires.
The museum grounds preserve the original Adams School from 1920, relocated here in 1988 to keep the educational heritage of Harbor Beach alive. The spaces reflect the teaching traditions that shaped the community.
The museum is located on North Huron Avenue and is easy to find with clear markings for the different buildings on the grounds. Visitors should wear comfortable shoes as the site spans multiple separate structures that require walking between them.
The maritime collection displays the original fourth-order Fresnel lens from the Harbor Beach Lighthouse, which operated until its decommissioning in 1986. This optical device was crucial for ships navigating this dangerous coastline.
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