Shell Station - Gilmore Car Museum - Hickory Corners, MI - Vintage Gas Stations on Waymarking.com

The Shell station at the Gilmore Car Museum was built onsite in 1998 from original 1929 blueprints, with the help of many volunteers. It even has clean restrooms. The station serves as the Museum’s Interpretive Center and central gathering place for tours.

The porcelain signs that adorn the building hold special significance to the Museum. They were originally part of Hickory Corners’ own Shell Station, which was once located only three miles down the road from the Museum. The station sold Shell products until 1942 when these signs were removed and destined for a wartime scrap drive.

In 1998, Shell memorabilia collector Dick Walters “discovered” these signs hanging in a barn a little over a mile from the Museum and added them to his impressive collection. Aside from being a collector, Mr. Walters is the founder of Walter-Dimmick Petroleum of Marshall, Michigan, the nation’s largest Shell jobber.

Dick Walters not only donated a large collection of memorabilia and signage for the service station, but he was also instrumental in obtaining financial contributions toward the project from Shell Jobbers and Dealers of Michigan.

The Museum has received invaluable assistance from other various groups and individuals in creating the service station. Members of the Kalamazoo Antique Auto Restorers Club and the Kalamazoo Valley Antique Tractor, Engine & Machinery Club assisted in the site preparation and finishing the inside of the building. Robert and Sonia Turnquist provided a substantial financial contribution, as did the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, and the hundreds of individuals who have purchased engraved bricks used for the driveway.

Address of the station: 6865 Hickory Road Hickory Corners, MI USA 49060 Type of Gas Station: Reborn

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Date Logged Log User Rating   08/03/2018 theHostas visited it