Survey on the allocation of funds for the conservation of Green Book sites

MERRILL TOWNSHIP, Michigan (WOOD) – A new grant will help find ways to preserve two Green Book-listed properties.

The book was a travel guide that suggested safe and welcoming travel destinations for African Americans during racial segregation.

The state announced this week that the Michigan State Historic Preservation Office received a $75,000 grant from the National Parks Service’s African American Civil Rights History program. The money will go toward sites important to African American tourism, including a historic hotel in Woodland Park in northern Newaygo County and the historic Wilson’s Grocery in Idlewild in Lake County.

Eric Lindsey’s family owns the property that includes the store and the adjacent house. Lindsey said the store represents more than just years of providing people with groceries.

“Pretty much tied the community together,” Lindsey said. “Lela Wilson, who built the house, also built the (now demolished) Paradise Club … and then the Wilson Grocery Store.”

The grant will be used to hire a preservationist to examine the condition of a number of properties, including the hotel and grocery store, and look for ways to protect them or find new uses, said Katie Kolokithas, the Preservation Office’s investigation coordinator.

“In the world of historic preservation, we call this adaptive reuse. So reusing a building does not necessarily mean that it has to be used for the same purpose as before,” Kolokithas said.

The grocery store building is still in use, but the owners welcome the funding and want to see other historic buildings protected as well.

“We probably have four or five buildings still standing, and the Wilson Grocery Store and the Wilson House are pretty important sites. We’re glad they’re still standing,” Lindsey said.