905 Penniman Ave

2 Aug

905Penniman

905 Penniman. Built Circa 1886. This home stands at the South West corner of Penniman and Harvey Street. This place once served as the home of Nettie Dibble who lived here for several years from the 1920s up until her passing in 1944. Nettie was quite active in the community and also Authored “History of the Presbyterian Church in Plymouth” and “Historical Data of Plymouth Twp”. At one time this home was completely covered in siding which covered the brick work. In 1991 this home was remodeled and the siding was removed to reveal the hidden bricks by the current owners Dubois-Cooper Associates who now use this as a commercial office.

One Response to “905 Penniman Ave”

  1. Dr. Cynthia Balfour Todd's avatar
    Dr. Cynthia Balfour Todd January 29, 2024 at 1:19 PM #

    There are facts about this house that are misleading. I know because I lived here. My father bought this house when I was five years old. That was around 1946. The main house was brick, painted white. My father was Dr. Harry C. Balfour. He was an eye, ear, nose, and throat physician. He sold the house when I was in college about 1961. My father made improvements inside and outside. He added siding to one part of the house which was the entrance to his office until he completed converting the garage to an office with an apartment above it. He did the work himself! The apartment was made of beautiful knotty pine. His mother lived here. He built a wall to separate and shield the backyard of the house. He built a small pond and planted a cherry tree and a flowering plum tree in the backyard. That wall, the pond, and the trees were removed after it was sold to make a parking lot. The upstairs of the main house was also made into some apartments. A few years ago, I gave copies of photographs of the house to the Plymouth library. Those pictures show how it looked in the 1940’s. I lived in this house from 1946 to 1961. The Cooper children, Ann, Jeanne, and Jim were classmates of myself and my younger brother. Our house was known as the Balfour Mansion, although, of course, it was not a mansion.

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