The Clarke Historical Library is part of
Central Michigan University
Central Michigan University (CMU) is a public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. Established in 1892 as the Central Michigan Normal School and Business Institute, the private normal school became a state institution and renamed Cen ...
in
Mount Pleasant, Michigan
Mount Pleasant is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located in Central Michigan, the city is the county seat of Isabella County, Michigan, Isabella County. The population was 21,688 as of the 2020 United States census. It is surrounded by Unio ...
, United States. It is located within the Charles V. Park Library on the campus. The library was founded in 1954 by Norman E. Clarke Sr., who gave his library and collections to the college, which he had attended as a young man. The library began with the 1,500 books, 60 groups of manuscripts, 150 maps, 400 visual items and 50 broadsides, including a few early papers. His collections included numerous memoirs, works of scholarships, treasures, opinion pieces, and works of fiction.
This library publishes the ''
Michigan Historical Review The ''Michigan Historical Review'' is a semiannual peer-reviewed academic journal of American history published by thHistorical Society of Michigan It was established in 1974 as ''The Great Lakes Review'' before obtaining its current name in 1986. T ...
'' twice per year. The journal is dedicated to Michigan and its history. The Clarke also houses a variety of
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...
publications, a well-known 20th-century writer born and partially raised in
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
. The collection includes Hemingway's papers, and photographs from his cottage on
Walloon Lake
Walloon Lake is a glacier-formed lake located in Charlevoix and Emmet counties, just southwestward from the northern tip of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. It is now home to many vacation homes and cottages. Though the end of the west arm of t ...
in northern Michigan. Clarke Historical Library encourages individuals, groups, and organizations to use its materials to conduct research and undergraduate study. The library created a website in 1996.
The Clarke is home to a children's literature section with collections of books that range from the 17th to the 20th centuries, which includes first editions. It also maintains the archives of Central Michigan University. There are also over 2,500 articles recording the history of Michigan, its writers and other topics involving Michigan. The Clarke preserves documents related to the history of Michigan and the Old
Northwest Territory
The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolutionary War. Established in 1 ...
, which Norman Clarke collected over the years. Public programs are ongoing, varying in exhibits and speakers, twice a year.
{{Central Michigan University
Central Michigan University