Battle Creek is proud of its history, and no wonder.

Founded in the 1830s as a market and mill center for prairie farmers, the city in a few decades would emerge is as “the best-known city of its size in the country.”

Many individuals fueled the city’s rise to prominence. It was the birthplace of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, today the fifth largest Christian communion in the world. The Smithsonian named its founder, Ellen G. White, among the “100 Most Significant Americans of All Time.”

Battle Creek also was home to the renowned abolitionist and women’s rights advocate Sojourner Truth and Underground Railroad stationmaster Erastus Hussey.  The city was a hub for health reform movements, with the establishment of the Battle Creek Sanitarium by John Harvey Kellogg, which attracted notable figures and promoted healthy eating practices.

And, of course, the city is widely known “Cereal City,” thanks to the genius of people like C.W. Post and W.K. Kellogg.

Although we’re surrounded by history in Battle Creek, it’s easy to lose sight of the humanity of those who made history — individuals with dreams, struggles, and triumphs like us.

Our aim with Things Worth Remembering is to bring those people into sharper focus.  In observance of Black History Month, we celebrate the contributions of baseball legend John W. Patterson and aviation pioneer Sidney Adams Jr., among others.

We invite you to browse the exhibition, where you also will find prints of articles and photographs of some of those subjects to take home.