Remember the Time: Michigan Used to Be Part of the Central Time Zone
With Daylight Saving Time now underway, conversations always arise during this time of year about how Daylight Saving got started, why we even need it in the first place, and whether or not we should keep it around any longer. I'll admit, despite Daylight Saving coming around twice a year for the entire 33 years of my life, I am still confused by it and never prepared!
A TikTok account associated with the Dearborn Historical Museum (@DearbornHistoricalMuseum) recently shared this unique and lesser-known part of Michigan history. The video starts off by pointing out the fact that Michigan has really late sunsets compared to the other states. Something I myself never thought much of until I moved further out into the Midwest to states like Nebraska and Missouri.
Between the years of 1885 until 1922 the state of Michigan was located entirely within the Central Time Zone. However, due to growing business relations in addition to a desire to keep up with the times, Detroit decided it wanted to be in the same time zone as New York City and petitioned Congress to adopt Eastern Standard Time.
However, not all Michiganders felt the same way! The TikTok user explained that some cities like Ann Arbor and Flint were on-board with the idea of switching time zones, but many farmers and parents across Michigan opposed the idea of the sun going down "later" in the day. Even to this day there are still four Michigan counties who are located within the Central Time Zone: Dickinson, Gogebic, Iron, and Menominee.
The Dearborn Historical Museum further explained that Michigan didn't even originally participate in Daylight Savings Time either! When Congress passed the Uniform Time Act in 1966 Michigan voted to reject it, although that was short lived; by 1972 Michigan voted to once again start observing Daylight Saving Time. I had no idea there was so much back and forth when it came to Michigan clocks! And don't forget about the Upper Peninsula either-- its place in this whole time zone debacle was a battle in itself.
Do you think Michigan should stop observing Daylight Saving Time once again?