Mill Creek Research Council, inc.

Citizen action group formed in 1964-1965 to oppose the flooding of the Mill Creek area in Lima Township, Washtenaw County, Michigan, to improve sewage treatment for communities downstream on the Huron River. The organization was founded by Mrs. Virginia Denham. The organization also opposed creation of a Mill Creek Metropark by the Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority. The organization also created South Lima Township Historical District plan.

From the description of Mill Creek Research Council, inc. records, 1960-1988. (University of Michigan). WorldCat record id: 77974802

The Mill Creek Research Council (MCRC) is an environmental action group based in Lima Township, Washtenaw County, and was organized by Mrs. Virginia Denham. The MCRC was formed in 1964-1965 to protest a proposal by the United States Army Corps of Engineers to flood the Mill Creek area in order to provide better sewage treatment for communities downstream on the Huron River. The plan promoted by the Corps of Engineers was successfully opposed by the Research Council.

In 1965 the MCRC also organized to fight a proposal by the Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority (HCMA) to construct a 4,000-acre metropark, including a 1,500-acre lake that would be created by damming up Mill Creek. HCMA abandoned the plan in 1982, due to local opposition to condemning the land in question. HCMA was not sure if it had the power to condemn the land, and MCRC persuaded them not to investigate.

The residents remained suspicious of the HCMA, and in the early 1970s they created the South Lima Township Historical District plan. The plan's goal was to survey the township and apply for historical district status with the National Register of Historical Places. A 9,400-acre tract in Lima Township, South of I-94, was identified. The desire of the historical district council was to preserve the appearance of a 19th Century rural community in the tract.

The Michigan Department of State and the federal government determined that the tract was eligible for historical district status, and if it was registered would be the largest of its kind.

In July 1981 a proposal to preserve the tract was sent for review to the federal government, the Michigan Department of State and the National Park Service. A hearing was held by the history division of the Michigan Department of State in Lansing in April 1983. Ten people testified in favor of registration and two testified against it. The decision on the status of the historic district was then sent to the National Park Service in Washington, D.C for further investigation and approval.

A local couple, the Urquharts, who opposed the opportunity for federal intervention that registration as an historical district would allow, began an effort to block registration. They convinced a majority of 160 of 253 owners to send notarized affidavits of opposition to the government. Under the regulations, if a majority of the land/property owners in the district oppose registration, it can not be approved.

On September 8, 1983 the National Register of Historic Places reviewed the application and accidentally approved the registration. The decision was reversed in February 1984, after the mistake was revealed.

In the 1980s, the HCMA attempted to build a golf course in South Lima Township. The MCRC again prevented the action.

From the guide to the Mill Creek Research Council, inc. records, 1960-1988, (Bentley Historical Library University of Michigan)