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A “Self-Made Town”: Semi-Annual Furniture Expositions And The Development Of Civic Identity In Grand Rapids, 1878–1965, Scott St. Louis

Peer Reviewed Articles

In the later decades of the nineteenth century, prominent business figures in the city of Grand Rapids had reason to be both ambitious and optimistic. Striving to pull every last cent of profit out of available resources, they rationalized production workflows and integrated the latest technologies into their factories. They also perceptively discerned that a maturing railroad network connecting Grand Rapids to an emerging Victorian consumer economy would empower the city to achieve new levels of prosperity and fame through an industry on the verge of unprecedented growth: domestic furniture production.

These entrepreneurs acted upon their hopes for the community’s …

Wright, Curtis William (Fa 1159), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1159. Student folk studies project titled “Amish” which includes survey sheets with a brief description of Amish life in Howard County, Indiana. Sheets may include an interview, brief description, informant’s name, and address. The project also includes “A Story of Isaac S. Miller” by O. G. M.

Wood, Diane (Fa 1155), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1155. Student folk studies project titled “Folk Art and the Pennsylvania German” which includes survey sheets with a brief description of Pennsylvania German and other folk art collected in Burton, Ohio and Warren County, Kentucky. Sheets may include an item or representation of folk art, brief description, photograph, and origin.