Ella Sharp Museum

Trace the development of the Jackson [1] area at the Ella Sharp Museum of Art and History (3225 4th St., 517/787-2320, www.ellasharp.org [2], 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Tues.–Fri., 11 a.m.–4 p.m. Sat., $5 adults, $3 children 5–12). Sharp’s mother was a rich expatriate who had invested in western Michigan land in the 1800s and later came to live on it—a rarity, since most investors were absentee landlords.

Ella, born in Jackson, grew into a successful reformer who worked to improve rural life through good government, women’s associations, and conservation. She also was a pack rat, so plenty of 19th-century artifacts and memorabilia fill this museum complex, which includes Ella Sharp’s 1857 farmhouse, an 1840 log cabin, a one-room schoolhouse, and the Midwest’s finest wildlife art collection.