From left, Alberta Rogers, Wayne Clements, Agnes Dikeman, Bob Lane and Janet Swope with the saddlebags that belonged to Orange Risdon, the founder of Saline.

Courtesy photo | Saline Area Historical Society

A unique piece of Saline’s history has returned home.

Saddlebags that belonged to Orange Risdon, Saline’s founder, are now in the hands of the Saline Area Historical Society and housed as part of an exhibit at The Railroad Depot Museum.

"We have relatively few things we can trace back to Mr. Risdon," says David Rhoads, past president of the Saline Area Historical Society.

The pigskin saddlebags were given to the Washtenaw County Historical Society before Saline had its own historical society. Alberta Rogers, a former president of the Saline Area Historical Society, knew of their existence and thought they belonged in Saline.

She let Dean Greb, president of the Saline Area Historical Society and its board, know of their existence, and an official request was made to transfer them to Saline, the town that Risdon plated in 1825.

Saline got them back in May, cleaned them up and recently put them on display in a glass case, says Rhoads.

The saddlebags are believed to be at least 186 years old and are in extremely good condition, Greb says in a press release.

“It’s great to have them back in the City of Saline and with the Saline Area Historical Society,” Rhoads says.

Congress sent Risdon, a surveyor, to Michigan to survey a military road to the west, opening a whole new territory for exploration and future settlement, according to information supplied by the Saline Historical Society.

Risdon followed the Sauk Indian Trail from Detroit to Chicago. Once known as the Chicago Pike, it later became US-12 or Michigan Avenue. Today, it is also known as the US-12 Heritage Route, part of the American Scenic Byways Program.

Risdon was most impressed with the geography of the Saline area, according to historical society information, and he elected to put down roots in the settlement, though he also admired Ypsilanti, Clinton and Coldwater.

According Wayne Clements of the Saline Area Historical Society, “Saline’s first permanent settler was Leonard Miller in 1826, followed closely by Orange Risdon, who surveyed Saline Village in 1832 along with the Detroit to Chicago Road and many other Michigan buildings and lands.”

The settlement was called Saline for the salt flats that provided the important mineral needed for survival.

“It’s thought that mail, surveying equipment and other personal items were carried in the saddlebags,” Rhoads says.

Currently, there are on permanent exhibit at the Saline Railroad Depot Museum on Saline Ann Arbor Road where they can be viewed on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Read more information on the history of Saline at the Saline Area Historical Society website.

Lisa Allmendinger is a regional reporter for AnnArbor.com. She can be reached at lisaallmendinger@annarbor.com. For more Saline stories, visit our Saline page.