Open: 2nd Sundays and 3rd Fridays 1-4 pm
Closed: Holiday weekends and when a GWBHS program is elsewhere.
** Please check event locations carefully and check this page for the latest updates. **
**GWBHS has a new Open House schedule September-December 2024!**
Open: 2nd Sundays and 3rd Fridays 1-4 pm
Open House: Vintage Wooden Toys
Sunday, December 8, 2024, 1-4 pm
(Free admission, donations appreciated)
Orchard Lake Museum, 3951 Orchard Lake Road
Enjoy our vintage wooden toy collection, along with other vintage toys, this holiday season! Hands-on activities. Engaging permanent exhibits interpret local area culture and history.
Volunteer Opportunities Meeting
Wednesday, December 11, 2024, 7 pm
Orchard Lake Museum, 3951 Orchard Lake Road
Are you looking for flexible, interesting volunteer opportunities? Come learn our needs, from one-time to long-term commitments. We need volunteers looking to make a difference in our community and help keep our unique local history alive! RSVP by Tuesday, December 10 to contact@gwbhs.org.
Open House
Friday, December 20, 2024, 1-4 pm
(Free admission, donations appreciated)
Orchard Lake Museum, 3951 Orchard Lake Road
Permanent exhibits interpret local area history and culture.
Traditional Ice Harvesting Open House
Sunday, January 12, 2025, 1-4 pm
(Free admission, donations appreciated)
Orchard Lake Museum, 3951 Orchard Lake Road
See traditional ice harvesting methods and tools. Come make an ice cone and see our permanent exhibits that interpret local area history and culture!
Open House
Sunday, January 19, 2025, 1-4 pm
(Free admission, donations appreciated)
Orchard Lake Museum, 3951 Orchard Lake Road
Permanent exhibits interpret local area history and culture.
Annual Meeting & Presentation – “Michigan POW Camps in World War II”
Saturday, January 25, 2025, 10 am-12 pm
WB Library Main Meeting Room, 4600 Walnut Lake Road
Dr. Gregory Sumner, Professor of History at the University of Detroit Mercy, will discuss his book Michigan POW Camps in World War II. It tells the fascinating – but largely forgotten – story of the 6,000 captured German and Italian soldiers who lived and worked in our state between 1943-1946. Sponsored with West Bloomfield Library.
Local Black History Open House
Sunday, February 9, 2025, 1-4 pm
(Free admission, donations appreciated)
Orchard Lake Museum, 3951 Orchard Lake Road
In 1908, Marie C. Bolden, an Ohio-born African-American teenager, became the first-ever national spelling bee champion in the U.S., overcoming tricky words like “acquiesce”, “descendant”, and “millinery” on her way to the top. But her achievement was quickly eclipsed by racial prejudice, and her story rarely told. Please join us to hear West Bloomfield stories rarely told.
Open House
Sunday, February 23, 2025, 1-4 pm
(Free admission, donations appreciated)
Orchard Lake Museum, 3951 Orchard Lake Road
Permanent exhibits interpret local area history and culture.
Presentation – Detroit’s 1910 Kosher Meat Riot
Wednesday, February 26, 2025, 7 pm
(Free admission, donations appreciated)
WB Library Main Meeting Room, 4600 Walnut Lake Road
As Gilded-Age robber barons manipulated their beef industry headquartered in Chicago, the rest of the United States–including Jewish communities–experienced distressing ripple effects. In Detroit in 1910, working-class Orthodox women were no longer able to afford Kosher meat. Under the direction of 20-year-old Rebecka Possner, Jewish women took to the streets, fighting to stabilize prices and the community. Hear JHSM Executive Director Catherine Cangany, PhD retell this remarkable and forgotten moment in Michigan history. Sponsored with West Bloomfield Library.
West Bloomfield Parks Open House
Sunday, March 9, 2025, 1-4 pm
(Free admission, donations appreciated)
Orchard Lake Museum, 3951 Orchard Lake Road
Join us and a West Bloomfield Parks representative as they share the history of our parks system and information from their 50th anniversary in 2020! Engaging permanent exhibits interpret local area history and culture.
Open House
Sunday, March 23, 2025, 1-4 pm
(Free admission, donations appreciated)
Orchard Lake Museum, 3951 Orchard Lake Road
Permanent exhibits interpret local area history and culture.
Presentation – “Mary Parker, William Taylor and Other Freedom Seekers: Researching the Underground Railroad in Oakland County”
Wednesday, March 26, 2025, 7 pm
(Free admission, donations appreciated)
WB Library Main Meeting Room, 4600 Walnut Lake Road
How and why was Oakland County involved in the Underground Railroad? … And how do you uncover the stories of those involved? Carol Bacak-Egbo, Oakland County Parks historian, shares her findings in this presentation. Sponsored with West Bloomfield Library.
Open House
Sunday, April 6, 2025, 1-4 pm
(Free admission, donations appreciated)
Orchard Lake Museum, 3951 Orchard Lake Road
Permanent exhibits interpret local area history and culture.
Tax Records Open House
Sunday, April 13, 2025, 1-4 pm
(Free admission, donations appreciated)
Orchard Lake Museum, 3951 Orchard Lake Road
Come see West Bloomfield tax record books. To learn more about your property, know your Township section number, property description and, if known, subdivision. Engaging permanent exhibits interpret local area culture and history.
Orchard Lake Nature Sanctuary Spring Nature Walk
Sunday, April 27, 2025, 2-3 pm
(Free admission, donations appreciated)
Orchard Lake Nature Sanctuary, 4700 Pontiac Trail
Join Naturalist Carol Fink for a guided tour. Walk through rolling terrain and explore the breathtaking spring flowers. Sponsored with Orchard Lake Nature Sanctuary.
Monthly Open Houses
2nd Sundays and 3rd Fridays, 1-4 pm
(Free Admission, Donations Appreciated)
Orchard Lake Museum, 3951 Orchard Lake Road
Enjoy temporary and permanent exhibits interpreting area history and culture. Occasionally guest presenters share their interests.