Burton Historical Collection

*Due to flooding and the required clean-up, this service along with other Main Library services will be temporarily unavailable until after Labor Day.*

About the Collection

The Burton Historical Collection (BHC) of the Detroit Public Library began as the private library of Clarence Monroe Burton, a prominent attorney and Detroit historiographer. Mr. Burton’s original intention was to assemble a collection on the history of Detroit. Realizing that Detroit’s history was inextricably connected to that of Michigan and the Old Northwest, Canada and New France, he assembled a collection that is one of the most important private historical collections in the country.

Hours