Era: 1860s-Present
Location: Various locations including 120-122 West Exchange Street
Owosso history with race is complex—moving from courage to shame and back toward justice.
The Underground Railroad Era: Before and during the Civil War, Owosso was a major stop and funding source for the Michigan Underground Railroad. Oral histories describe vast underground tunnels between wealthy business owners and homes. Many Owosso residents heavily funded the Union cause, and the city was home to the regiment that captured Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
Alexander Johnson: Born enslaved in Tennessee, Alexander Johnson fought for the Union in the Civil War. After living in Canada, he moved to Owosso in 1870 and became a respected barber. In 1871, a mob of white men forced most of Owosso Black residents out of town, but Johnson was allowed to remain. He operated his barbershop in the Grow Block from 1892 to 1902 and lived out his days in Owosso as a self-employed professional.
The Dark Years: On October 18, 1924, a KKK parade took place in downtown Owosso. By March 1926, the building at 120-122 West Exchange Street had become the state headquarters of the Klan, with George E. Carr of Owosso as Grand Dragon. Owosso was known in the 1930s as a Sundown Town that did not allow Black citizens to remain in city limits after dark.
Resistance: The Catholic Irish community was also harassed by the KKK. Brave residents confronted Klan members—one grandfather story tells of recognizing Klan members by the horses they rode and calling them out by name despite their white costumes.
Redemption: In 1932, Joseph H. Lebowsky, a Russian Orthodox Jew, purchased the former Klan headquarters building to remove some of the stain of the KKK presence in Owosso. Montgomery Ward leased the building from 1932 to the early 1980s.
Progress: The Civil Rights era opened doors. Douglas Osmer recalls attending Owosso College in 1968 and witnessing discrimination, but also seeing how Civil Rights laws opened the doors to EVERYONE regardless of COLOR, RACE, or CREED.
Today, the Cook Family Foundation occupies the former Grow Block building—once home to Alexander Johnson barbershop, later the Klan headquarters—and uses its resources to be a catalyst for positive change, committed to building a more welcoming and accessible community.
As one resident noted: It heartens me to know that our town was also a key part of Underground Railroad, with houses standing downtown today that sheltered runaway slaves.