By Gari Voss
The Old Jail Museum in Allegan has been celebrating the Allegan County Historical Society’s 70th anniversary. To take a step back into Allegan County’s history, Dave Thompson convinced local artist Pat Broadhurst to compile some of her pen and ink drawings into a book. Though Pat had to think about it, she agreed and spent months choosing favorite drawings then creating short historical narratives.
On Friday, August 30, 2024, and Saturday, August 31st, the pre-fair copies of the book will be available at the Old Jail Museum from 10am-4pm. During that time, Pat will stop to autograph copies of Pen & Ink Drawings of Allegan County Historical Sites.
For the first edition, only 30 copies were printed. Thus, the suggestion was to come earlier than later. The hope is to have copies available at the Allegan County Fair in the John Pahl Historical Village.
The beauty of the book is that Pat has been intricate sketches of historic buildings and bridges across Allegan County for years. As the pages unfold, the reader will find several renderings of the Old Iron Bridge from different years and perspectives. The beloved county courthouse is featured along with churches and schoolhouses.
“The ink drawings are based on photos taken around the county,” explained Broadhurst. “The bridge is in there three times, but it kept changing. The first drawing was done for a postcard.”
Residents of the county will recognize buildings that either no longer exist or have been refurbished over time. An example is the ‘flatiron’ building at the intersection of Brady and Hubbard Streets that held the Surprise Sign Shop in the basement for many years. Broadhurst can even remember when there was a tower above the second story of that building.
Not far down Brady Street was the Hotel, now Sherwood’s Cove, which also had a flatiron structure behind it, and the real stables, now Tilt 118. By using photos from different decades, Broadhurst was able to recreate these historic sites.
Broadhurst was an original member of the Allegan Arts Association. Today, some of her art has been displayed by the Allegan Area Arts Council during Art Reach at the Griswold. The Lynx logo was designed by Pat.
Reflecting back, Broadhurst commented, “Dave wanted me to do a book with all of my artwork, but I said, ‘No, No.’. I have hundreds of paintings done in acrylics. That was just too much.”
By sticking to the black and white pictures, Pat felt that she could complete the book in the short time allotted. What assisted in the task was that in 1994 and 1995, Broadhurst did calendars for the Historical Society, and each included 10 pieces of art. In addition, she had done postcards of which some are still available at the Museum. These were countywide, and some of the drawings are included in the new book.
“Dave Thompson deserves some credit for the book. He is not the publisher but has had a hand in the development,” shared Broadhurst. “I have given the book to the Historical Society. I am just glad that Dave got me to do this.”
The Allegan County Historical Society hopes that the book will begin conversations and stories about the wonderful history of Allegan County.
