About the Muskegon Heritage Museum of Business & Industry

The Muskegon Heritage Museum of Business & Industry (MHMBI) was established by the Muskegon Heritage Association (MHA) in 1983 to accommodate the donated Corliss Valve 90 hp steam engine. The goal of the museum is to preserve information, photos and artifacts pertaining to: the industries of the Muskegon Area and businesses of Muskegon.

In 2009 a revitalization of the museum began with a complete rearrangement of the main room adding new displays in the cases and on the walls. A print shop was set up and an Industrial section in the back building was rearranged. Printed signs for all displays were added. In 2010 the museum was expanded into what was the shoe store next door. During 2011-2012 we reconfigured and remodeled the 2nd floor of the building where the Corliss Engine is housed. This is our “Made in Muskegon” exhibit and we added a classroom that accommodates 35 people comfortably with all the AV equipment necessary for any presentation. By 2016 our volunteers had finished the 3rd floor remodeling and expanded our display space to almost 10,000 square feet!

In 2018 the MHMBI launched the “Open the Doors to our Future” capital campaign which successfully raised nearly $1.5 million dollars.  The success of this campaign allowed us to install an elevator in the museum for accessibility and to increase the MHMBI Endowment Fund to provide for the future of the museum forever.

On June 2, 2020, the Muskegon Heritage Museum of Business & Industry officially merged with Lakeshore Museum Center (LMC). The Muskegon Heritage Museum of Business & Industry was gifted to the LMC following the retirement of Allan and Anne Dake who were the volunteer directors of the museum for 11 years. Today, the museum staff keeps looking for more items manufactured in Muskegon.