Nik Rajkovic / news@whmi.com

Stories of Fowlerville’s past have come alive during the library’s $1.4 million renovation project.

"There was an old beer bottle from 1968 and a medicine bottle from 1945, which was pretty cool," says library director Isabella Rowan. "The buildings in the parking lot, there used to be a woman's house there, and there was a basket factory and old hotel. That was really fun that they were digging out some artifacts that we have saved."

Crews even uncovered an old mural in what will soon become the library’s new children’s center.

"We used to be the Curtis Grocery Store, so that mural they discovered in the drywall is apparently the area of the bakery and deli where they had cafe tables. People could come in and buy a sub or some chicken, sit at a cafe table and that was their view, was that bright mural on the wall, like you were sitting outside," says Rowan.

Now, she says, time is of the essence to finish before winter.

"They expect the pave the front parking lot sometime next week. The new stucco exterior on the building is starting also next week," Rowan said. "We should be finished, hopefully, before December. Our 'Christman in the Ville' event is on December 7, and I'm hoping we're all finished by then so we can do a soft opening."

The cost of this renovation is paid through the library’s existing tax millage.

Photo courtesy of Fowlerville District Library.