The Michigan Department of History, Arts and Libraries (MHAL) was an agency of the U.S. state of

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. Its official name was ''Michigan History, Arts and Libraries''. It was created in 2001 and was eliminated in 2009.

History and responsibilities

The Michigan Department of History, Arts and Libraries was a portmanteau agency created by executive reorganization in October 2001 during the administration of Governor

John Engler John Mathias Engler (born October 12, 1948) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 46th Governor of Michigan from 1991 to 2003. A member of the Republican Party, he later worked for Business Roundtable, where ''The Hill'' c ...

. The specific functions of the Department dated back to the publication startup of the ''Michigan Pioneer and Historical Collections'' in 1874, followed by the creation of the

Mackinac Island State Park Commission The Mackinac Island State Park Commission is an appointed board of the State of Michigan that administers state parklands in the Straits of Mackinac area. It performs public activities under the name Mackinac State Historic Parks. Park units incl ...

in 1895. The agency included the

Library of Michigan The Library of Michigan is a state-run library and historical center located in Lansing, Michigan that was created to provide one perpetual state institution to collect and preserve Michigan publications, conduct reference and research, and suppo ...

, the Mackinac State Historic Parks, the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, and the Michigan Historical Center. The Department operated several of Michigan's resources for learning and tourism, including

Fort Mackinac Fort Mackinac ( ) is a former British and American military outpost garrisoned from the late 18th century to the late 19th century in the city of Mackinac Island, Michigan, on Mackinac Island. The British built the fort during the American Re ...

Fort Michilimackinac Fort Michilimackinac was an 18th-century French, and later British, fort and trading post at the Straits of Mackinac; it was built on the northern tip of the lower peninsula of the present-day state of Michigan in the United States. Built aroun ...

, the

, Michigan Historical Center, and the

Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and Underwater Preserve is a United States National Marine Sanctuary on Lake Huron's Thunder Bay (Michigan), Thunder Bay, within the Northern Michigan, northeastern region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It pr ...

. It also published '' Michigan History'' magazine. The Department was eliminated by executive reorganization in July 2009 by the administration of Governor

Jennifer Granholm Jennifer Mulhern Granholm (born February 5, 1959) is a Canadian-American lawyer, educator, author, political commentator, and politician serving as the 16th United States secretary of energy since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, she pre ...

External links

* —Lists departments assuming the functions of the former agency
Archives of Michigan

Library of Michigan

Mackinac State Historic Parks

Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs

Michigan Historical Museum

State Historic Preservation Office

References

{{authority control History, Arts and Libraries History of Michigan State history organizations of the United States