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41000 Plymouth Rd ~ Burroughs

5 Apr

Burroughs

Designed by Albert Kahn in 1938, this is home of Burroughs Inc (at one time Burroughs Adding Machine Co.) For several years, Burroughs was consider a major manufacturer of business equipment. Later, Burroughs was selling more than adding machines, including typewriters. But the biggest shift in company history came in 1953: the Burroughs Adding Machine Company was renamed the Burroughs Corporation and began moving into computer products, initially for banking institutions.This company has been around for over 100 years and has played a role in both Plymouth & World history. Many of their early products are on display at the Plymouth Historical Museum.

To see more information visit: http://michiganexposures.blogspot.com/2011/08/burroughs-plant-plymouth.html also check out:http://www.burroughs.com/AboutUs.aspx

Below is a photo of Burroughs when it still had the smoke stack bearing the company name:burroughs

 

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1034 York Street

28 Mar

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1034 York Street. Built in 1829 by Benajah Holbrook. Benajah was an older Brother of Henry Holbrook whom is the namesake of Holbrook Street which is within walking distance of this house. Benajah and his wife Barbara owned this property until his death in 1882. In 1882 this home was purchased by Charles Gentz. The Gentz family resided here for 40 years. At age 10 Frankie Gentz drowned in the stretch of Rouge River which runs behind this home. During a previous renovation of the property by the Norgrove Family, a tombstone for Frankie was found. Herbert & Leora Norgrove purchased this home in in 1944 and was owned by the family for 65 years. Today this home has been significantly modified and added on to. At the time of this photo, this home was undergoing updates.

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391 Maple Street

11 Oct

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Built circa 1879 by John Hood. This home is located at the corner of Maple and Hamilton. When it was first built it was right next to the Plymouth Fairground. John had visited Italy in the late 1870’s and returned to Plymouth wanting to build a home that was inspired by the homes he saw over there. This Italian Villa style home had an addition in 1887. Mr. Hood’s daughter Marion was born in this home and she lived here with her Husband Mr. Curtis until 1926.

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47566 Joy Road

8 Sep

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47566 Joy Road. Built Circa 1828. This home is one of the earliest built homes in all of Plymouth. The property was originally deeded to James Taft in 1825 and was sold to Zenas Burd in 1828. It is unclear if the home existed prior to the purchase by Mr. Burd. Although the home has seen some significant changes through its several years of existence, it still has its original stone foundation and the original hand hewed structural timbers. Most of the changes were made in the 1950’s by Eric Frobergs. Frobergs dug out the original Michigan basement so one could actually stand up down there and he also added the two large bay windows that are seen today. Another significant change Frobergs did was to remove the stucco that was put on the home in the twenties. This is a beautifully well-kept home that  is truly another Plymouth Treasure.

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48121 North Territorial Rd

20 Jul

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Built Circa 1850 by Samuel Dunn. This farm was purchased by Clinton Gottschalk in 1934 who not only farmed this land but was also a contractor that was responsible for building several homes in Plymouth. This was the last fully operational agricultural and turkey farm in Plymouth. Although the farmland was sold in the mid 1980’s to make room for development, this home is still in the same family and still has one of the only barns left in Plymouth.

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Historic photo of Gottschalk farm circa 1936. This barn still sits on the property

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842-848 Sheldon Road

19 Jul

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842-848 Sheldon Road. Built circa 1849 by Ebenezer Penniman and was the Carriage house for his home located near the intersection of Penniman Ave and Church Street. The property was purchased by Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in 1943 and this carriage house was moved in 1946 to become a Multi-Unit home.

Below is a rough historic photo of what the carriage house looked like in 1898:

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1142 N. Holbrook Street

16 Jul

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1142 Holbrook St (at Wilcox Rd) Built circa 1835. Originally the home of Henry Holbrook. Holbrook was one of Plymouth’s earliest settlers that played a significant role in Plymouth history and owned the Plymouth Mill right behind this property. Henry was born in Massachusetts in 1808 and was married to Sarah who was born in New York in 1813. The Wilcox family purchased this home in 1870 with the Mill from Holbrook. The Wilcox’s ran the mill and a store to sell thier products. George Wilcox later purchased the Iconic Victorian home that sits across from Kellogg Park. A stone (carriage step) bearing the Wilcox name is still on the front lawn. Locally, many also know this home as the Guenther House. Harold Guenther served as Mayor of Plymouth.

Below is a historic photo of this home:

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169 Adams Street – Historic Conner Hardware

4 Jul

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ConnerOnMain169 Adams Street. (modern photo shown) This home appears to be simply another older home that sits in a well-established neighborhood. Well, it’s a home with a “past” unlike most houses. Back in the 1850’s Plymouth did not have an actual hardware store. Michael Conner was the first proprietor of such an establishment. Conner hardware was located on Main Street near the corner of Sutton Street (now Penniman Ave). Conner’s became a popular place for folks to gather, sit on the porch and discuss the latest news and gossip. Mr. Conner loved to discuss political matters with the townspeople and had even served as the Village President. In 1884 Michael Conner built a new store. In 1896 Michael had passed away and his son William Conner (who had served as the store manager) was now running the establishment. In 1898 William built the now iconic Conner building that sits at the North West corner of Main & Penniman (where Kilwin’s resides today). As for the old wooden structured store, the assumption was that it was razed and had become history. After doing some research at the Plymouth Historical Museum, I stumbled across some documentation showing that the hardware store was actually moved to 169 Adams Street and originally became the home of Mr & Mrs Farwell. Since the move, this structure has seen some significant changes but upon further inspection, its past becomes very apparent. So we are pleased to re-discover this great piece of Plymouth history!

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48760 North Territorial

1 Jul

48760 N. Territorial Rd. Built in the 1840’s. This home was originally located on South Main Street but was relocated in 1971 by Marion Sober. This was also the residence of the Robert Birch Family that lived in this home until 1932.Image

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Haggerty Comfort Station

27 Jun

Built in 1937, Located on Hines Drive just West of Haggerty Rd, this comfort station can be found in Hines Park (Haggerty Park location). This comfort station was one of the early public comfort rest stops and it was a prototype for roadside development. When originally constructed, this station had a full-time attendant, an information booth and concession stand. Wayne county was one of the first county road agencies in the United States to promote the “Good Roads Movement” Setting procedures for design, construction, and maintenance of roadside developments.

https://www.waynecounty.com/departments/publicservices/parks/haggerty-park.aspx

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550 N. Holbrook – Starkweather School

27 Jun

550 N. Holbrook. Starkweather School built in 1927. Named after Plymouth’s first born settler child, George Anson Starkweather who once served as a Schoolteacher in addition to being a prominent figure in Plymouth’s history.

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49000 North Territorial

27 Jun

49000 North Territorial Rd. Built prior to 1857. The Gates family had owned the farmland in 1832 and lived on this property for more than 50 years. This welcoming farmhouse had significant remodeling done in the 1940’s and 50’s.

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DeHoCo Silos at the corner of Ridge and 5 Mile Roads

27 Jun

Corner of 5 Mile & Ridge Road. Built in 1920. This is one of the most visible landmarks that stands at the North West edge of Plymouth. It’s nickname is “DeHoCo” which stands for the Detroit House of Corrections. This was actually part of a working prison farm. A wood structure once adorned the front of these silos. This was used until 1931 when the prison was built down the street.

UPDATE: As of Friday, August 30th, 2019 this structure has been demolished and is no longer standing.

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291 Spring Street

27 Jun

291 Spring Street. Built circa 1840 by the Presbyterians and was originally located at the corner of Mill & Liberty Streets. In 1847 the church was purchased by the Baptists who then sold it to the German Lutheran Church who had it moved to its current location and then built the home next door as the parsonage. The old clapboards are hidden below the more modern siding but it still has wonderful stained glass windows.Today this Church is now the Church of Christ West.

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760 Burroughs Street

27 Jun

 

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760 Burroughs Street. Originally the home of Bethuel Noyes, it was built circa 1850 and was originally located at 705 South Main St. Mr Noyes was the 1st President of the Village of Plymouth. This home was relocated & renovated by the Bake family some time around 1927.

Below is a photo of a 1928 post card with this home:

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41661 Plymouth Rd

27 Jun

 

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41661 Plymouth Rd. Part of this structure (Main Entrance) was originally a homestead built circa 1889 which was made into a restaurant in 1934 and was added on to through the years. It first started out as the Hillside Barbecue, then Hillside Inn for years before becoming Ernesto’s in the 80’s. It is currently the Courthouse Grill and still features Chef Ernesto’s Italian dishes.  This Plymouth landmark holds many great memories for thousands of people in and around Plymouth and has been enjoyed by generations.

Below are some historic photos that were shared by the descendants of the original owners/proprietors of the Hillside Inn.

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41661 Plymouth Rd circa 1900

 

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921 Church Street

26 Jun

921 Church St. Built in 1841 by Peter Fralick originally as a harness shop, it became a residence sometime within 20 yrs. As a residence, this structure has been in 3 locations! In 1923 when it was located at 968 Penniman it was turned around to its current location on Church St.

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187 Adams Street

26 Jun

187 Adams St. Built in 1834. Known as the “Pumpkin Hill House” a name given by  a previous owner (Sandra Richards) that had a birthday of Oct 31 and had also claimed to be a practicing Witch. Yes, we said Witch. The home was in still in its primitive condition until the current owners rescued this home and brought it into the 21st century. This house still has original hand hewed timbers and others signs of its earlier years. Today this house is “hands down” a wonderful example of how a historic home can be saved and made into an excellent modern home. The painstakingly long hours and effort put into this home will keep it a wonderful part of our community for many years to come. Today this home is also occupied by a black cat named “Pumpkin”. (See Below)

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Below is an old photograph taken circa 1982 before it was remodeled.

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Old house photo and picture of Pumpkin courtesy of Patricia Malcolm.

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1655 Cassady Place Drive

26 Jun

1655 Cassady (formerly 44622 N. Territorial) Built in 1875 Originally the home of Marcus Miller, later was sold to the Cassady Family & is now the focal point of the Cassady townhouses built in 2002.Image

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46255 North Territorial Rd

26 Jun

46255 N. Territorial Rd. The John Tibbits Farmstead built prior to 1827. Plymouth’s 1st town meeting was held in the barn that still sits on the property. John Tibbitts who played a signifcant role in Plymouth’s history was laid to rest in the Shearers Cemetery which is walking distance of this home.http://detroit1701.org/Tibbitts%20Farmstead.htmlImage

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