Built Circa 1875 by Peter Gayde. Mr Gayde was a well known business owner who was also an elected official of Plymouth. When Peter immigrated to Plymouth he was instrumental in forming the German Lutheran Church in Old Village. Peter’s store was located in the Starkweather Building located on Liberty Street. When Peter passed away in 1902 his Sons continued to operated his store under the name of Gayde Brothers Groceries.
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.
472 Starkweather was Built in 1892 by George Clinton Peterhans who served in Michigan’s 16th Infantry Company F along side his twin brother Christian Peterhans and who also built a home in this same area of Lower Town (Old Village) Plymouth at 615 N. Mill Street. When you read about the battles the Michigan 16th were involved in during the Civil War and the extreme hardship these soldiers encountered, it’s amazing that George and his twin brother made it back home to Plymouth in one piece and were able to enjoy their lives and their homes here in our community.
Life seemed to become much less complicated in those days and it’s interesting to read an old newspaper from the turn of the century. It was published in an old paper published on September 30, 1901 that while George was picking apples out in the orchard, he fell from an 18 foot ladder and had dislocated his elbow and sprained his wrist. George was a tough man and was able to go about his business not log after this incident.
George passed away on March 17th, 1911. Both George and his brother (John) Christian Peterhans are at rest near each other in Plymouth’s Riverside Cemetery.
This home is an example of the architect style called “Second Empire” and is distinctly different from other homes in the area. Today this home is being used for commercial purposes.
Below is a photo of George Peterhans and a photo of the home as it appeared in 2013:
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.
235 Adams Street. Built in 1881 and was originally located on Main Street. This was the home of William (W.O.) Allen who was a business owner and had a store on Penniman Ave. Mr. Allen was married to Kate Penniman (Daughter of Senator Ebenezer J. Penniman). In 1925 this home was sold to the Essick Family and then in 1949 the property was sold to the Public School system to allow for expansion of Plymouth High School (aka Central Middle School, now PARC). This home used to sit where the Gymnasium is now located. The home was rescued by Robert Joliffe and was moved to this location in 1950.
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:
Jim, Andrea, Ava, Alicia, & Aaron
This page is committed to sharing the history and facts of historical structures and homes in Plymouth, Michigan. This page is dedicated to the past and present residents of Plymouth. As a Plymouth resident, my family is Proud of the richness of history, the great schools, and the great people of this wonderful community. After a visit to the Plymouth Historical Museum, we became very interested in the homes and structures around town and the history behind them. In the spring of 2012 we started a facebook page documenting our discoveries. In partnership with the Plymouth Historical Museum, we evolved to the creation of this page. Our goal is to raise awareness of the rich history of Plymouth and to showcase to the world the great community we live in. Our posts only scratch the surface of the extensive stories behind each structure and we can only hope it will encourage the community to learn more and appreciate Plymouth history. We also hope that our page helps encourage the preservation of structures that hold much of the great history of Plymouth. We invite the public abroad to pay a visit to our wonderful community and to stop by the Plymouth Historical Museum located at 155 S. Main Street, Plymouth, MI 48170 Phone Number: (734) 455-8940.
To contact the author of this page, simply enter your info below:
318-336 S. Main Street was built in late 1893 after the “great fire” of 1893 eliminated most of the block. This is the Penniman Building, one of the most recognized structures in town which was built by Kate Penniman-Allen who was a very prominent figure in Plymouth. She was the Daughter of Ebenezer Penniman who was Plymouth’s first Congressman. Some of the most notable businesses in this building are Wiltse’s community pharmacy which has provided some of the best hometown service to this community for most of the 20th Century, 336 Main is a popular Martini Bar ( www.336Main.com ) and there are some great confections cooking at the Cupcake Station.
1142 S. Main Street. Built in 1921. This is actually a “kit house” that was constructed by the Lewis Manufacturing Co. in Bay City. Originally the home of William Sutherland who was a Horticulturist also owned a large parcel of Plymouth land which was developed into the Sunshine Acres neighborhood. Sutherland Street was named in his honor. This home is listed on the registy of historical sites. http://detroit1701.org/Sutherland%20Bungalow.html
1103 Penniman. Built in 1895 by Michael Conner who was the owner of Conner Hardware. Michael also served as the Plymouth Village President. The Conner hardware building is located on the NW corner of Main & Penniman. Unfortunately Mr. Conner passed away in 1896 but his family continued to lived here for many years.
1279 W. AnnArbor Trail. Built by Timothy Moss in 1827. Although it’s seen some major modifications, this is one of Plymouth’s oldest homes. This house was renovated in the 60’s to it’s current appearance.
280 S. Main Street. Built in 1910 by Dr. Albert Patterson. This home was purchased in 1917 by Fred Schrader the Brother in-law of Dr. Patterson & was made into the Schrader Funeral Home. Schrader’s was one of the earliest funeral homes in Michigan and has had its doors open for business in Plymouth longer than any other business in town. This funeral home was ran by 3 generations of Schraders. This funeral home has served as the parlor to many well known names in Plymouth’s history. http://www.schrader-howell.com/?page=ourhistory
298 S. Main Street. Built in 1898. The Conner Building was originally built as Conner’s Hardware Store. Additions were made in 1904 and in 1926. Michael Conner established Plymouth’s first harware store in the 1850’s. Today this Iconic building houses multiple shops & offices such as Kilwin’s, a great place to treat yourself! https://www.kilwins.com/plymouth
Below is a photo of Penniman Ave and Main Street where you can see how Conner Hardware appeared in the 1940s.
233 S. Main Street. Built in 1875. This home was built by Henry W. Baker who once served as President of Daisy Air Rifle. This home is on the National Register of Historic Places is used today for commercial purposes. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_W._Baker_House
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.
134 N. Main, originally the home of James & Mary Park. Built in 1882. This later became home to Charlie Bennett, president of Daisy Manufacturing Co (1920-56) This home is now used for commercial purposes
676 Penniman Avenue. Built in 1901 by William (Phil) Markham, Owner of the Markham Air Rifle Factory which still stands at 340 N. Main St. Today this home still bares a Penniman address although the street no longer crosses the front of this home. This Iconic Queen Ann Style fixture of downtown Plymouth was originally built as a home for Markham’s young mistress, Blanche Shortman. Markham’s Wife Carrie refused to divorce because of her strong Christian beliefs. Carrie passed away in 1910 and Markham married his mistress Blanche. These actions were met with outrage by the locals that the newlyweds were shunned. Blanche could hardly bare the public persecution that the decision was made to leave town and move out West. In 1911 Markham placed an ad in the “Plymouth Mail” stating the sale of his home. The home was purchased by George Wilcox. This home was owned by the Wilcox family for nearly 90 years. Today this home is being used for commercial purposes.
Visit this page for more historical info: http://www.wilcoxfoundation.org/history-of-the-wilcox-house.html
41358 Ann Arbor Trail, once home to Ambrose Burr (one of Plymouth’s 1st Pioneers) was built around 1845. The home was remodeled in 1930 by Burt Tomlinson. The exterior bares little resemblance to it’s original clapboards & shutters appearance. *House under renovations at the time of photo
587 W. Ann Arbor Trail. Built in 1928. This building was purchased by Dean Saxton about 1937 and has been a fixture in Plymouth since then. The addition was added in the late 40’s. Saxton’s sold commercial & residential lawn care equipment and tools. It is unfortunate to see the doors close 10/31/2012. Today this property is owned by the Plymouth Downtown Development Authority.
39505 East Ann Arbor Trail. Built in the 1860’s. Behind the shroud of trees there is a beautiful farm house begging to be noticed. This home was once owned by Harry Ayers who had raised Cattle and even had an Orchard. He named this “Hope Farm”.
PlymouthMiDiscoveries 
Recent Comments