Many of Grand Rapids’ early manufacturers, merchants, lumbermen, bankers, physicians, educators, entrepreneurs, and civic leaders built their homes in and around what would become Heritage Hill. Their work helped transform a small frontier settlement into a growing city, and many of the homes that tell their stories still stand today.

But the story of Heritage Hill has another generation of founders.

When urban renewal and demolition threatened the neighborhood in the 1960s and 1970s, residents and preservation advocates came together to protect it. Leaders including Barbara Roelofs, John Logie, and Linda DeJong, along with many others, helped establish the Heritage Hill Association and build the preservation movement that protected the neighborhood for future generations.

They saved the homes, and in doing so, they saved the stories.

The 2027 Tour brings these two generations together—the people who helped build Grand Rapids and the people who fought to preserve an important part of its history.

The founders who built Grand Rapids.
The founders who saved Heritage Hill.
And the families who continue their legacy today.