Bill Barney, downtown business owner, envisioned the Gaslight District and helped establish the Gaslight Association in 1966. Mert Carter, dressed as a lamplighter, lit the lamps in a ceremony in July 1967. North Central Michigan College also installed gas lights at this time. The lamps were removed in the early 1980s and replaced with electric lights. The original gas lamps were sold as a fundraiser for the association.