Barryton Area Historical Museum

The Barryton Area Historical Museum occupies two one-room schoolhouses joined into a single museum building at 19730 30th Avenue in the village of Barryton, tracing back to 1987 when the newly formed Barryton Area Historical Commission moved the historic Titus School next to the village park. Inside, the collection leans heavily on genealogy, holding Mecosta County cemetery books alongside cameras, hand tools, a sleigh, pump organs, and photographs documenting the area's early days. Barryton itself sits in the northeastern corner of Mecosta County, where the north and south branches of the Chippewa River meet, an area known for quiet lake access rather than heavy tourist traffic. Locals return each summer for the museum's open season, and visitors touring nearby Merrill Lake Park or Chippewa Lake often build in a stop here to trace family roots or browse the cemetery and photo archives. The nonprofit museum runs on volunteer support to stay open to the public through the warmer months. Researchers or groups who can't make a scheduled visit can arrange a private tour by calling ahead, since staff will open the museum by appointment for anyone with a specific research need. Along with the Mecosta County Historical Museum in Big Rapids, this small schoolhouse museum forms part of a modest network of local history sites preserving the county's rural and small-town heritage.