About the Owosso Time Traveler
Mission Statement
The Owosso Time Traveler seeks to engage residents, researchers, and visitors to preserve, share and celebrate the rich history of Owosso, exploring how our city’s past continues to shape our lives today.
The Owosso Time Traveler is a digital journey through the people, places, and stories that shaped our community. It is created and maintained by the Owosso Historical Commission, with the help of local organizations and citizen historians like you. It contains archival material from the Owosso Historical Commission, Shiawassee District Library, private collections, and submission from the public brought together and connected in space and time using historic maps, photographs, and documents. This interactive historical map and digital archive covers Owosso from the mid-1800s to the present day and will continue to grow into the future.
The Owosso Historical Commission is greatly appreciative of its partnership with Michigan Tech University’s Community Deep Mapping Network by providing the technological infrastructure and the Shiawassee District Library making the Owosso Time Traveler possible.
Please explore and contribute to our people-powered platform by sharing your historical photos, stories, and documents.
Explore Owosso—Then and Now
Use the interactive map to travel through time. Click a point of interest to view historic photos and historical accounts, and see how each site has changed through the years. Each point on the map represents a story waiting to be discovered.
Explore how streets, buildings and land use have changed through the decades by exploring maps from different periods of time. Use the sliding tool at the top of the screen to travel between the past and the present.
Use this option to search the headings of the points of interest.
This project grows through the stories, photos, and knowledge of citizen historians, like you. You don’t need to be a historian—just someone with an Owosso story to share. All entries are moderated by the Owosso Historical Commission and will not appear until they have been reviewed for accuracy and appropriateness.
Ways the Public Can Contribute
Submit Photos or Videos
Do you have old photos or short videos (maximum of ____ seconds) of homes, businesses, streets, or events in Owosso? We welcome scanned images or even photos taken with your phone. Every image adds to our story.
Share Memories
Personal stories bring history to life. Tell us about growing up in Owosso, a business you remember, or a place that mattered to you.
Provide Historical Information
If you have documents, old newspaper clippings, research, or knowledge about specific properties or events, we’d love to include it.
Donate
We may have a link for people to donate
If you have a large amount of data or images to share, contact the Owosso Historical Commission at working to get a dedicated email address to explore different methods of contributing to the Owosso Time Traveler.
Use of Submitted Materials
By submitting photographs, documents, or written content to the Owosso Historical Commission (OHC) for inclusion in the Owosso Time Traveler project, you affirm that you have the right to share these materials. Please credit the source of any materials shared as appropriate (i.e., photographer, publication, etc.).
You grant the OHC a non-exclusive, perpetual, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, display, publish, and distribute your submission in connection with the Owosso Time Traveler website, related digital platforms, educational materials, exhibits, and promotional efforts.
The OHC agrees to make a good-faith effort to credit contributors whenever materials are displayed or used.
The OHC reserves the right to review, curate, and decline submissions that do not align with the project’s mission or standards.
This is Your History, Too
The Owosso Time Traveler is never finished. It grows with every story shared, every photo discovered, and every memory recorded.
Join us in preserving Owosso’s past—so it can inspire the future.