Tag Archives: Historical

184 Caster Ave

8 Jul

184Caster

184 Caster Ave. Built circa 1890; this was once the home of William “Phil” Markham. William F. Markham was born in Plymouth in 1851 and was the Son of A.B Markham one of Plymouth’s first pioneers that settled in this community. Markham became a Plymouth business owner that made tanks and cisterns. In 1887 William Markham was granted the first patent for an Air Rifle. Phil was instrumental in starting the industry that put Plymouth on the “map” Internationally… The Air Rifle Industry. Phil’s company became the Markham Air Rifle Company which later changed its name to the King Air Rifle Company. Markham started manufacturing Air Rifles prior to the formation of the Daisy Air Rifle Company which was literally within walking distance of the Markham Company. This statement about ‘who was first” is only made because of a popular misconception that Daisy Air Rifle Co. was the first to invent and manufacture Air Rifles.

As for this grand home and why it was built. Well, this home was built for Phil to reside at while he was estranged from his Wife Carrie who refused to grant him a divorce. In 1907 the home was sold to Elisha Caster. Markham owned a number of homes in S.E. Michigan. Interestingly enough he also owned and built the home located at 676 Penniman Ave which he built for his mistress Blanche. After his wife Carrie passed away in 1910, he married Blanche and moved into the home located on Penniman across the street from Kellogg Park.

This home that elegantly stands at the corner Caster and Holbrook in the Historic “Lower Town” also known as Plymouth’s “Old Village” has a history that is unrivaled when compared to other historic homes in the area considering that Markham not only invented the modern-day BB Gun but also started an industry that changed the landscape of Plymouth and helped put this community on the map as the “BB Gun capital of the world”. Today the Markham Air Rifle Company building still stands at 304 N. Main Street and is the largest commercial brick building in Plymouth. In 1911 Markham and his family moved to California and became successful in Real Estate. At one time Markham was the owner of a large parcel of property that today is now known as Hollywood. Phil Markham passed away in 1930.

Below is a photo of William Markham taken in 1900:

WilliamFMarham

At the time of this post this home is currently on the real estate market for sale. You can view the listing for this home by clicking here: 184 Caster

Tags: , , , ,

796 N. Mill Street

29 Jul

796NMill

796 N. Mill Street is one of the oldest homes in this part of Plymouth. Built on a field stone foundation it was recorded that this home was built in 1866 but upon further inspection, this structure has materials and structural signs that date it back circa 1837. There are also records that show that this home was standing prior to the Civil War.

In 1886 this was the home of Conrad Springer who was a German Immigrant born in 1834. Springer had served as a volunteer soldier in the 24th Regiment, Company K for the Union Army during the Civil War. Conrad passed away in 1916 and was laid to rest in Plymouth’s Riverside Cemetery.

Through the years ownership of this home changed a number of times but today this place now serves as the home of the Red Twig Art Gallery. The owners of this home have not only cared for this historical home but they also have done a great job of preserving the historic home of William Starkweather just down the street.

Tags: ,

1090 N Holbrook

22 Jul

1090Holbrook

1090 N Holbrook Street, built circa 1850 on a stone foundation. This was once part of the Henry Holbrook estate which once was home to one of Plymouth’s earliest mills. The Greek Revival home next door (1142 Holbrook) was the main house on the property and this home was built to house other family members. It’s been said that this was once the home of one of Henry’s 3 daughters. In 1850 it was recorded that Henry’s estate was worth $16,500 which by today’s standard would be just over a half-million dollars. This home was remodeled in 1922 to the current appearance that you see today. After nearly 170 years, it’s awesome to see this home is still standing strong. The current owners are proud of it’s rich Plymouth history and have done a great job keeping this home preserved.

Note: If you look closely to the left of the photo, you can see the yellow exterior walls of the well-known “Holbrook House”.

Tags: , , ,

584 Starkweather St

5 Feb

584Starkweather

584 Starkweather Street was built circa 1882 and has been serving Lower Town Plymouth as a marketplace for over 125 years. This 2 story commercial flat was originally designed to serve as a market on the first level while the 2nd level was designed to house the shop keeper/owner. From 1909-1981 records show that this building was owned by Henry Fisher (Fisher Estate).  This location was most known as Bill’s market for several years and most recently Old Village Market and Plymouth Fish Seafood Market. Today this building has been renovated and now serves as the Honey Hole Diner. Whether dining in or ordering from the carry-out menu, this place offers some great food and a great selection of beverages and fresh baked items on the “coffee shop” side. Restaurant web site: www.HoneyHoleDiner.com

When this building was renovated in 2017, the owners of the diner decided to have the North & South exterior walls painted with some very distinctive Art work (murals) which some people love and some don’t. We are simply pleased with seeing that this part of Plymouth history is being preserved and well cared for.

 

Tags: , , , ,

1364 Maple Street

14 Jun

1364Maple

1364 Maple St. Built in 1928 by Dr. John L. Olsaver. Doctor Olsaver was a dentist that put himself through the School of Dentistry at the University of Michigan (1911 Grad). John Olsaver married Marguerite Hough, the daughter of Lewis Cass Hough (President, Daisy Air Rifle Co.) and they were actually married in the Hough mansion which once stood at 243 N Main Street.

Today this piece of Plymouth history is definitely one to be admired. The current owners have worked meticulously to make this house an inspiration and to preserve all the historic aspects of this home. The interior is ornate and with detailed, hand painted walls, beautiful woodwork, and so much more that makes this home one to be marveled for years to come. Not only have the owners done a fabulous job with the restoration and preservation of this home but are two of our kindest residents that have put forth their own sweat equity and financial support to save some of Plymouth’s most treasured structures such as the Historic Plymouth High School (on Church St) and Post office (on Penniman Ave). Plymouth is very fortunate to have such magnificent residents and preservationists and we are also proud to have such a fantastic home as part of our community.

Tags: , ,

412 Starkweather St

8 Aug

412Starkweather

412 Starkweather St. Built Circa 1880. This home was built by George Starkweather and was then deeded to his Mother-In-Law Mary Davis. In earlier years, Mary was active in the underground railroad and was one of the founding members of the Plymouth WCTU (Women’s Christian Temperance Union). Mary was the Foster Mother of Amelia Heywood who married George Starkweather in 1865. After the passing of Mary Davis, the home was deeded to Amelia Starkweather. In 1973 this home was purchased by Robert (Bob) Puckett who kept this home well preserved and was used as the home of Puckett Plumbing, Heating & Cooling. Bob Puckett sadly passed in November of 2015. As of May of 2017 the home is being renovated by its new owners and will be used for both commercial and residential purposes. We are glad to see that this home will continue to be a great part of our Plymouth history for years to come.

MarySeelyDavis

Historic Photo of Mary Davis from the Daniel Sabo Collection

Tags: , , ,

498 Farmer Street

1 Aug

498FarmerSt

498 Farmer St. Built in 1914. Originally the Alter Motor Car Company.Built right along train tracks, this factory sits right across the street from the Plymouth Cultural Center. Alter Motors built over 1000 cars from 1914-1916. At one time the factory employed 100 workers and produced 25 cars per day. This building was wonderfully restored inside and out by the current owners: the C.D. Sparling Company. To see the last known Alter Car, be sure to stop by the Plymouth Historical Museum where they have one of these great cars on display. For additional historical information about the Alter Motor Car Company, be sure to check out www.AlterMotorCar.com

Click the photos below to view a larger image: AlterCar2MenAlterCardAd

AlterCarFactoryPicAlterCarInterior

Tags: , , , , ,

1107 W. Ann Arbor Trail

27 Jul

1107WAnnArborTrl

1107 W. Ann Arbor Trail. Built 1861. Originally the home of Cassius Kellogg, Son of Plymouth Pioneer John Kellogg. Much of the land that now makes up the City of Plymouth was once owned by the Kellogg Family. The “Village Green” which we know as Kellogg Park in Downtown Plymouth was actually donated to the City by the Kellogg Family. The site which this home sits on was also said to have been a ceremonial site for local Native Americans.

UPDATE: As of 10/14/2016 We are sad to report that this home was lost to “progress”. Although this home was in great shape and well cared for, it was sold to a contractor and razed in order to built 2 new homes in its place.

If you would like to help prevent additional lose of historic homes in Plymouth, we encourage you to follow the Plymouth Preservation Network on facebook and be informed about other homes which may be threatened or things you may be able to do to help.

Tags: , , ,

821 Penniman Ave

16 Mar

821Penniman

821 Penniman Ave. Built in 1893. It’s hard to mistake this building when driving through downtown Plymouth considering that it’s one of the only historic 3 story brick buildings in town. The upper 2 floors once served as a hotel in the early years and the 1st floor originally was a General store then served as a number of different retail stores. For years the first floor served as Huston Hardware. In more recent history this building was home to the Community Crier newspaper. Today the top two floors are apartments but this structure is most known for being home to Sean O’Callahan’s Public House, a traditional style Irish Pub. It’s worth visiting this pub to take a step back into Plymouth’s past and though it may seem to be a strange recommendation, I would advise paying a visit to the restrooms on the lower level to see more of the original building materials such as the field stone foundation. When looking at historic photos this building once had a three sided brick facade (similar to a bay window effect) but was remodeled in the early 1900’s to a straight brick facade as we know it today. Check out O’Callahan’s web page at:  http://seanocallaghanspub.com/

Historic photo (below) of Penniman Ave taken circa 1923. If it wasn’t for the historic cars in the photo, this would almost seem to be a recent photo of Penniman Ave. The 3rd building from the left is the same building discussed in this post.Click on the photo to enlarge.

Penniman1923

Tags: , , , , ,

107 S. Main Street

2 Jan

107SMainSt

107 S. Main Street. Built in 1900. This property was purchased by William Hoyt in 1883, 7 years later he built this home (built in the eclectic prarie style) where his family lived until 1943. Today this home is used for commercial purposes.

Tags: , , , , ,

306 S. Main Street

21 Dec

306SMainSt

306 S. Main Street. Built in 1920. This Iconic Plymouth structure was originally built as the Plymouth United Savings Bank. There’s no missing this building when you’re in downtown Plymouth as it stands guard at the corner of Main and Penniman overlooking Kellogg Park. This bank was once run by some the most well known names in Plymouth’s history like: Bennett, Geer, Hough, Shearer, Starkweather, & Wilcox. This structure was built using solid materials like Limestone. This bank was built on the same spot where the old Coleman building once stood. This building operated as a bank until 1994 when it was sold. It has since seen a couple of different occupants and is currently home to the Greek Islands Restaurant.

Below is a photo from 1920 right after the construction of the bank, notice that the clock on the front hadn’t been installed yet.

MainSt1920

Tags: , , ,

Welcome to Plymouth MI Discoveries!

4 Jul
plymouthproudfaces

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:

Author of Plymouth Discoveries

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,