The National Historic Landmarks in Michigan represent Michigan's history from pre-colonial days through World War II, and encompasses several landmarks detailing the state's automotive, maritime and mining industries. There are 42 National Historic Landmarks (NHL) in the state, located in 18 of its 83 counties. The landmarks also cover sites of military significance, such as Fort Michilimackinac, religious significance, such as the St. Ignace Mission, and cultural significance, such as the Fox Theater and Ernest Hemingway's boyhood summer cottage.[1] In addition, two previously designated landmarks have lost that status due to the demolition of the sites.[2]
The National Historic Landmark Program is administered by the National Park Service, a branch of the Department of the Interior. The National Park Service determines which properties meet NHL criteria and makes nomination recommendations after an owner notification process.[3] The Secretary of the Interior reviews nominations and, based on a set of predetermined criteria, makes a decision on NHL designation or a determination of eligibility for designation.[4] Both public and privately owned properties can be designated as NHLs. This designation provides indirect, partial protection of the historic integrity of the properties via tax incentives, grants, monitoring of threats, and other means.[3] Owners may object to the nomination of the property as an NHL. When this is the case the Secretary of the Interior can only designate a site as eligible for designation.[4]
All NHLs are also included on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), a list of historic properties that the National Park Service deems to be worthy of preservation. The NHLs in Michigan comprise approximately 2% of the 1,757 properties and districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan as of January 2012. The primary difference between an NHL and a NRHP listing is that the NHLs are determined to have national significance, while other NRHP properties are deemed significant at the local or state level.[3]
Wayne County, the location of the automotive capital Detroit, has the most NHLs, with 13, followed by Emmet County and Mackinac County with three each. Five counties have two each, and eight counties each have one listing. Michigan's first NHLs were designated on October 9, 1960, when three locations were chosen. The latest designation was made on January 13, 2021. Eleven Historic Landmarks in Michigan are more specifically designated National Historic Landmark Districts, meaning that they cover a large area rather than a single building.[4]
| National Historic Landmark | |||
| National Historic Landmark District | |||
| Delisted Landmark |
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The following Landmarks were located in Michigan at the time they were declared National Historic Landmarks, but have since moved to other states.
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| Landmark name | Image | Date designated | Date moved or delisted | Locality | County | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln Motor Company Plant | Detroit | Wayne | Henry M. Leland acquired a factory here in 1917 and greatly expanded it in order to produce Liberty Engines as part of the World War I war effort. After the war, Leland used his long and prominent experience with Cadillac to inaugurate the Lincoln line of automobiles. Leland sold his company to Henry Ford in 1922; by 1952 this original Lincoln plant was retired from automotive production. Most of the complex was demolished in 2002–03, leading to withdrawal of its landmark designation.[5] | |||||
| Reo Motor Car Company Plant | In his third venture in the automotive industry, and after his departure from the highly successful Oldsmobile, Ransom E. Olds established the Reo Motor Car Company at this plant in 1904. Reo enjoyed early success and was responsible for many innovations in automobile manufacturing, but remained a niche company for most of its existence. The factory complex was demolished in 1980 to make way for site redevelopment, and landmark status was withdrawn in 1985.[6] | |||||||
| SS Ste. Claire | Detroit | Wayne | Designed by naval architect Frank E. Kirby. Between 1910 and 1991, the Ste. Claire ferried passengers to Bois Blanc Island for the Detroit & Windsor Ferry Company.[7] She was moved to Toledo, Ohio in 2003, but returned to Michigan a few years later and in 2019 is docked at Riverside Marina in Detroit.[8] The ship was delisted as a National Historic Landmark in 2023, but remained on the National Register of Historic Places.[9] |