Lansing - Frogville, Mich.? That could have been the name of the city now known as Lansing without the help of the city’s pioneers.
And that is just one of the many contributions that set the foundation for the capital city.
A ghost walk hosted by the Historical Society of Greater Lansing called “Builders Of The Town” was held in Mount Hope Cemetery, 1709 E. Mount Hope Ave. on Wednesday night.
“The history of Lansing is on this hill,” said historical society treasurer Bill Atkinson. “It’s incredible.”
Several presenters told community members about the people it took to pave the way for Lansing while visiting their final addresses - their graves.
“It’s been a very popular way for people to find out about the people of the past,” said Linda Peckham, a historical society trustee.
The walk started with a brief history of the cemetery.
Peckham said from 1874 to 1880, 1,100 bodies were moved from the old Oak Park Cemetery in Lansing to the newer Mount Hope Cemetery.
“The city was getting bigger and there was no more room in the (Oak Park) cemetery,” she said. “The city wanted to keep the bodies together.”
The first grave visited was of Solomon Lansing, for whom the city was named. He came to Lansing from New York, as did many of the pioneers, in 1854 as a blacksmith. With his profession, he became very prominent and lived on Grand Avenue - the most elite street in the city.
Another featured resident was Edward Sparrow, a businessman. He was born in Ireland and came to Lansing in 1858 where he opened Sparrow Hospital. He became involved in advancing medical treatments after his young wife died of childbirth complications.
The walk also featured connections to today’s Lansing residents.
Lansing resident Ron Turner told about his great grand uncle, James Turner, a pioneer road builder and merchant.
“I think he was most important simply because he was so involved,” Turner said of his ancestor.
Many people agreed the pioneers’ contributions made them important.
“What’s unique is the people we are taking about tonight used their spirit and enthusiasm and invested their money back into the city so it grew,” said Pat Heyden, a historical society board member.
