9275 MClumpha Rd was built circa 1869. This was once the home of Elizabeth McClumpha, the daughter of Thomas McClumpha who once owned and farmed much of the land along McClumpha Rd South of Ann Arbor Rd. Elizabeth was the eldest of her siblings, was well-known in the community and was remembered for her extreme kindness and love of children although she was unmarried and had no children of her own. She passed away in 1899 and is buried in the Riverside Cemetery.
Most recently this home has become known for being the childhood home of the leading Star of an Oscar-Winning movie, Amadeus. Thomas Edward Hulce was born in Detroit, and grew up here in Plymouth, where he was raised with his two sisters and older brother. He is the son of Joanne (Winkleman), who had sung professionally, and Raymond Albert Hulce, who worked for Ford. He has English, German, and Irish ancestry. Wanting to be a singer, Tom had to make a switch in plans when his voice began changing. Knowing that if he wanted to be in show business he needed to become an actor, Tom began taking the necessary steps almost immediately. Today Tom is known for being an Oscar-nominated multi award winning Actor, Producer and entertainer with a number of accolades. Simply “google” Tom Hulce and you can read his entire filmography, awards and more.
Here in Plymouth we are also proud of Tom’s mother, Joanne (Winkleman) Hulce, known as Jo Hulce. Jo was a member of the Winkleman family that was known for their department stores that started in 1928. In her twenties Jo who was a singer, became a featured soloist, “The Golden Voice of Joanne” on the nationally syndicated and popular radio show “The Hour of Charm”. The show was broadcast from New York every Sunday and toured the United States.
Jo and her husband Ray purchased this home in 1953. While raising her four children, she sang as a soloist with the Presbyterian Church choir and the Plymouth Symphony, and joined the League Board. The home of the Plymouth Community Arts Council at 774 N Sheldon is named in her honor… The Joanne Winkleman Hulce Center for the Arts.
Today the current owners of this home take great pride in the history of this house and also shared the fact that the addition on the back side of this home was built with some repurposed wood from the old Daisy Air Rifle factory. Many of us in the community are pleased to see how this historic home adds to the charm of Plymouth.
Tom Hulce as Amadeus in the Oscar-Winning movie “Amadeus”
9275 McClumpha Rd in 1977
PlymouthMiDiscoveries 
Jim, thank you so much for the great work you do in these profiles of Plymouth homes and structures. I wish I had more time to be at the PPN meetings but Mondays are always busy days for me. Sad to hear about the “Courthouse Grille” / Hillside restaurant. Someone who works there came by my sale today during the Old Village Yard and Trunk Sales event. She said the current owner shopped the place around for a while and got no takers. Mark Oppat
Larry Kroger!
Amazing to see this house after so many years. As a child I used to stay with my cousins The Joseph Gates family at 9375 McClumpha rd. This was a rural area at the time and the road was dirt. We would walk or ride bikes up and down the road and fish for crawfish across the road in a big pond in a horse pasture. The McClumpha house looked huge to me as a little girl. I believe 9375 McClumpha Rd is still owned by a son of Joseph Gates who was a WW2 veteran who served with the 101st Airborne Division. I’ve been told that Joseph and his wife Louise built this house either before they got married or shortly after. Thank you for all you do on this site.
What a great commentary on this wonderful old home at 9275 McClumpha Road. It is great to see it being preserved in such a beautiful condition.
I have my own attachment to this property in that I lived the early years of my life here,
from my birth in 1943 until my parents sold the property to Mr. and Mrs. Hulce in 1953.
Thomas and Violet Roberts, my parents, purchased this great old farm in 1939 and moved
from Detroit to Plymouth to get back to country living. The place had a huge, drive-in hip-
roof barn with horse stalls, tack room and hay storage for my Dad’s horse. It also had acres and acres of peach trees and a few apple and cherry trees. Of course, my Dad saw
farm income that would supplement his rising career at General Motors where he was a staff worker in the Sales Section. This, of course, required a commute to the GM Building
on West Grand Blvd every day. But nights and week-ends he would work the orchards.
I was born in 1943, my brother Joseph was born 1947 and along came our sister Sue in 1949. and we all loved living in that home. Our father’ rose to Manager of Shows and Exhibits for GM, his last show before he retired was the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair.
He loved the show work, but it kept him on the road a lot especially the GM Motorama.
All of us attended Plymouth Schools. On selling this home, my parents built a new home at 47950 West Ann Arbor Trail at Ann Arbor Road. It is here that we stayed until the mid-sixties, when our parents moved to Florida and we were all off to college..
Thanks for the memories. Theodore Roberts, Henderson, NV
I live at this address. Please take this down.