Archive | March, 2016

291 Spring Street

20 Mar

 

291Spring

291 Spring Street. Plymouth’s oldest Church structure. Built circa 1838 was originally a Baptist Church located on Mill Street. In 1855 this church structure was purchased and moved to this location by the newly formed German Lutheran Church which was organized with the help of German Immigrant and local business owner, Peter Gayde. Plymouth’s Old Village area was once the home of many German immigrants and this church was bustling with activity years ago. One of Plymouth’s oldest Cemeteries is located a short walk near the church. Old clapboards are hidden below the more modern siding but it still sits on a field stone foundation and most of the current parishioners have no idea of its extensive Plymouth history. Take a walk inside and you’ll likely be mesmerized by the exquisite stained glass windows which actually bare the names of some well-known people from Plymouth’s past. Today this Church is now the Church of Christ West and is virtually hidden behind Starkweather school. This is one of Plymouth’s great treasures that most people know very little about. As you can see in the historic photo below, the steeple is about the only thing that has seen any significant change through the years.

Historic photo from turn of the century (1900) time period. Photo (below) courtesy of the Plymouth Historical Museum.

GermanLutheranChurch

1274 Penniman Ave

19 Mar

1274Penniman

1274 Penniman Ave. Built in 1894. Once serving as the home of Floyd W. Hillman who was a local business owner.  At one time Hillman actually owned a “Graham-Paige” auto dealership that once stood at 505 S. Main Street. In 1938 this home was purchased by Perry Richwine who was an attorney that also served as the Secretary-Treasurer of the Plymouth Federal Savings & Loan. Richwine also served a term as the Mayor of Plymouth. Today you can still see the plaque that bares Richwine’s name where he had his law practice at 863 Penniman. In 1948 this home was purchased by Arthur Jenkins who was the editor of the “Plymouth Mail” newspaper. Today this home is currently owned by an attorney that has put much work into preserving this wonderful Plymouth home that once housed some of Plymouth’s prominent people from days of long ago.

Prior to this post, we had not heard of Graham-Paige automobiles, let alone the fact that there was a dealership here in Plymouth. Learn more about Graham-Paige by clicking this Wikipedia link:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham-Paige

GrahamPaige1929

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710 N. Mill St

17 Mar

710NMillSt

710 N. Mill Street. Built circa 1843 by William Bradner.  Standing at the corner of Mill and Liberty Streets in Old Village, this historic 2-Story Greek revival home sits on a Field stone foundation and retains much of its original dimensions and appears much like it did over 170 years ago. This home has seen a number of owners through the years including once being owned (in 1856)by Peter Gayde who was responsible for establishing the German Lutheran Church on Spring Street and also was a long time business owner whose original store structure still stands on Liberty. Peter went on to build a larger home at 761 Starkweather Street in 1875 which also still stands today. This home was recently remodeled and is being used for commercial purposes. Prior to being an attorney’s office it actually served as an Italian bistro. This is another great piece of Plymouth history that has survived for many years and will hopefully contribute to Plymouth’s historic ambience for several more years to come.

LibertyatMill1888

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