Veterans´ Facility

The Michigan Veterans’ Facility (formerly the Michigan Soldiers’ Home) was authorized by Act 152 of the Public Acts of 1885, which provided for the establishment of a home for disabled Michigan veterans. This act resulted from the efforts of Civil War veterans who were members of the Grand Army of the Republic. The home was dedicated in December 1886 with speeches by Governor Russell A. Alger, governor-elect Cyrus G. Luce, former governor Austin Blair, and various legislators. The need for nursing care was soon realized, and in 1891 an eighty-bed hospital and an eighty-bed annex were added to the 320-bed main building. A thirty-bed unit for women dependents was built in 1893. In 1894 the fountain and the Civil War soldiers statue in the cemetery were completed. They are the only remaining structures of that period. A new hospital was built in 1909. SIDE 2: These buildings served Civil War veterans until 1938, when the last resident veteran of that conflict died. Veterans of the Spanish-American War and World War I were then being admitted, making construction of the Mann and Rankin buildings necessary. By 1965 World War II and Korean War veterans were using the facility in such numbers that a new concept of services was needed. This was realized in 1975, as increasing numbers of Vietnam veterans required assistance, with the completion of a new building to replace many of the oldest structures. At the time of its centennial celebration, in 1986, the Michigan Veterans’ Facility, with the support of an employee network, veterans’ organizations, the Board of Managers, and volunteers, continued to serve the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of many of Michigan’s disabled and needy veterans. In April 1886 the board of managers of the Michigan Veterans’ Facility set aside five acres for a cemetery. The Grand Rapids posts of the Grand Army of the Republic dedicated the cemetery on Memorial Day, May 31, 1886. The original cemetery was designed in the form of a Maltese cross with 262 grave sites in each of its four sections. In 1894 a granite statue of a Civil War soldier was placed in the center of the cross. By the time of its centennial in 1986, the cemetery had recorded over 4,000 burials of veterans and their dependents.

[Back]: In April 1886 the board of managers of the Michigan Veterans’ Facility set aside five acres for a cemetery. The Grand Rapids posts of the Grand Army of the Republic dedicated the cemetery on Memorial Day, May 31, 1886. The original cemetery was designed in the form of a Maltese cross with 262 grave sites in each of its four sections. In 1894 a granite statue of a Civil War soldier was placed in the center of the cross. By the time of its centennial in 1986, the cemetery had recorded over 4,000 burials of veterans and their dependents.