The Men Who Ruled Michigan

From the time Michigan declared herself a state in 1835, it has been led by a variety of confounding and complex governors.  The infamous boy governor, the governor who made his living "on the sins of the people", the governor who married his daughter, the governor who was thrown off the state supreme court and sent to jail.  The governor campaigned on his farming strengths, the governor who built a bridge, the governor who waged war.  Who were these men, and what are their stories?  Come and learn about some of Michigan's more interesting - and infamous - governors.

Valerie Marvin works for Visitor Tour Services at the Michigan State Capitol. She is an architectural historian, who earned her Master’s in Historic Preservation from Eastern Michigan University in 2009. She is known for her research on Elijah Myers, architect of the Michigan State Capitol, and one of the leading architect’s of government building in the latter half of the 19^th century. Currently she serves as an officer with the Historical Society of Greater Lansing.