This image is one of the oldest known photographs of Dowagiac and was acquired by the museum through Floyd Jerdon. Several years ago, I found a listing on eBay for two 1860 tintypes of Dowagiac and Floyd bought them for the museum. The image here is the only known photograph of the original Dowagiac, Michigan Central Railroad depot. In the background is the Judd sawmill, which Mark Judd built in 1859. While the mill is long gone, Judd Lumber Company keeps going strong and is a key business in the city. (Photo courtesy of the Dowagiac Area History Museum)

This photo was titled “The Drs. Vs. the Leans” and shows two baseball teams at the Dowagiac baseball grounds with the grandstands in the background in the 1890s. The ballgame was between doctors and young upstarts (the Leans). My favorite part of the image is that the gentlemen labeled numbers 7 and 8 (identified as Dr. Rix and Dr. Roof) are the umpires and clearly are wearing sidearms. It just shows that referees and umpires have never gotten all the calls correct! (Photo courtesy of the Dowagiac Area History Museum)

This image shows Front Street in 1874, taken from the depot this time. Fires in the 1860s had destroyed most of the wooden structures that lined Front Street after the railroad’s arrival in 1848 and they were replaced with brick buildings that still stand today (for the most part). In the foreground is Michigan Central Railroad Park on the east side of Front Street. That side of Front Street did not develop until the 1880s — with no development south of Commercial Street until the 1920s. (Photo courtesy of the Dowagiac Area History Museum)

Less is known about the this photograph, but it is a fun one and tells me a lot about entertainment around the turn of the century. The photo shows a high diver in mid-air, diving into a pool of water no deeper than seven feet from about 40 feet. The high diver is set up at the corner of Front and Main Streets, about where City Hall is today. This amazing photo truly captures a moment in time. (Photo courtesy of the Dowagiac Area History Museum)