The Land Beneath Us: Uncovering the History of UU Lansing’s Property
by Ed Busch
Happy Birthday, UU Lansing!
On March 16, we marked a remarkable milestone—176 years since our founding! Some of you may recall last year’s celebration of our 175th anniversary. Our journey began on March 16, 1849, when four men signed the incorporation papers establishing the First Universalist Church of Lansing. By 1852, the church had formally organized and held meetings in the old State Capitol building.
The Land We Stand On
At a recent church social gathering I attended, a discussion arose about the history of the land our church now occupies, prompting my deeper look into its past. Before the arrival of French and British settlers in the 1600s and 1700s, this region was home to several Indigenous tribes, primarily the Ojibwe (Chippewa), Odawa (Ottawa), and Potawatomi (Bode’wami). Together, they form the Anishinaabe, also known as the Three Fires Confederacy. In our Land Acknowledgment, we acknowledge that our church stands on the ancestral, traditional, and contemporary lands of the Anishinaabeg. This land was formally ceded in the 1819 Treaty of Saginaw.
The Early Days of Lansing
The Lansing area was originally surveyed as early as 1825. Lansing’s history as a settlement dates back to an 1835-36 land scam when two brothers from New York sold plots in an area called "Biddle City," located south of present-day downtown Lansing. The land, however, was swampy and undesirable. Buyers who arrived expecting a thriving town found themselves deceived. You can learn more about this fascinating tale through a WKAR interview with local historian David Votta. (David is now the Special Collections Manager at the Library of Michigan.)
Lansing remained sparsely populated until 1847 when Michigan’s capital was relocated from Detroit. By 1859, the city had grown to nearly 3,000 residents within a seven-square-mile boundary, extending south to Mount Hope Rd. These boundaries remained relatively stable until 1916 when improved transportation allowed for expansion. The land where our church now stands originally belonged to Delhi Township but was annexed by the city of Lansing in 1960.
A cropped portion of the Chadwick Farm Atlas of Ingham County map showing the W. D. Battenfield farm.
The Story of Our Church’s Location
Historical newspapers provide insight into the land’s more recent past. A 1952 Lansing State Journal article mentions the Lansing Christian School acquiring 17 acres of what was once the 100-acre Battenfield Farm. Established in 1951, Lansing Christian School opened in 1952 and expanded over the years, adding new buildings and classrooms. The school’s address changed multiple times between 1952 and the 1990s, possibly due to annexation or administrative changes. In the late 1990s, Lansing Christian School moved to a new campus on Pine Tree Road, selling the Pennsylvania Avenue property to Capital Area Academy, a charter school authorized by Central Michigan University. However, due to long-term academic struggles, Capital Area Academy closed in 2011, and the building was later sold.
Our Journey to 5509 S. Pennsylvania Avenue
Our congregation’s story at this site begins in 2015. Kathy Lovell has documented our transition from East Lansing to our current home, with our first service held here on June 5, 2016. [Read more about our move here.]
Do you have additional insights or corrections about our history? Any photographs from our move to So. Penn. or the work done to get it ready for use? I welcome any contributions! Feel free to reach out at uucgl.archives@gmail.com. Also, let me know if there are other historical topics you’d like to see explored in future posts.
Overhead view of the UU Lansing property at purchase in 2015.
Voting to buy the So. Penn property in Lansing at the Congregational meeting on January 25, 2015 held at our church building in East Lansing.
Removal of the gymnasium floor and stands in 2015. Our sanctuary space resides where the gymnasium did when the building was purchased.
Sources:
https://michiganology.org/stories/the-anishinaabek-in-michigan/
https://nai.msu.edu/about/guide-to-land-acknowledgements
https://www.lansing.org/about-us/greater-lansing-history/
https://www.wkar.org/radio-made-in-michigan/2013-09-16/debunking-the-myth-of-lansing-as-biddle-city
Lansing State Journal, October 19, 1952, page 48.
Lansing State Journal, April 18, 1953 page 7.
Lansing State Journal, May 20, 1999, pages 1 and 4.
Lansing State Journal March 21, 1999, page 15.
Lansing State Journal, May 20, 1999, page 1.
Lansing State Journal, June 25, 2011, page 10.
Ingham County map 1914, https://archive.lib.msu.edu/maps/MSU-Scanned/Michigan/1-g1413_i4_c4_1914.jpg
About the Author
Hi, I’m Ed Busch, the writer behind these blog posts exploring the history of UU Lansing. After retiring in 2023 from a 15-year career as an Electronic Records Archivist at Michigan State University’s Archives & Historical Collections, I’m thrilled to dedicate my time to sharing our church’s rich history.
I hold a Master’s in Library and Information Science, specializing in archival administration, and my academic background also includes a degree in Fisheries and coursework in Computer Science. Before shifting to a career in archives, I worked across diverse fields, including fisheries, aerospace, and IT.
My wife, Leigh White, and I have been part of the UU Lansing community since the early 2000s and became members in 2006. I’ve been actively involved with the church archives since 2007, and both of our daughters enjoyed growing up in UU Lansing’s Religious Education (RE) program.
I look forward to connecting with you through these blog posts as we delve into the stories that have shaped UU Lansing over the years.