Tag Archives: Michigan

217 Ann Street

15 Apr

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217 Ann Street was built in 1912 and was home to a very well-known Teacher and School Principal of Plymouth-Canton Community Schools (PCCS). Nellie E. Bird (Smith) was born on a farm in Salem Township on March 4th, 1882. After graduating from Ypsilanti High School, she received her teaching degree from Ypsilanti Normal School (now known as Eastern Michigan University) while she was employed by PCCS, she earned her Masters Degree from the University of Michigan. Mrs. Bird was married to Frederick Bird and they moved into this Plymouth home in 1917 with their 2 daughters. When the Birds moved to Plymouth, Mrs Bird became a 5th grade teacher at Central Grade School. Mr Bird passed away in 1922. In 1923 Mrs Bird became the Principal of Central Grade School which was located in the same building as Plymouth High School (today known as PARC) until 1950. Mrs. Bird also served as Principal of Starkweather School.  In 1950 the Plymouth-Canton School Board voted unanimously to name the “new Elementary school” being built on Sheldon Rd after Mrs. Bird. In 1951 the Nellie E. Bird Elementary School located at 220 Sheldon Road in Plymouth was dedicated. (Go Thunderbirds!)

Mrs. Bird loved to plant a large garden and her specialty was raspberries. Many of her students stated that visiting her home on Halloween was always a delight especially since she would know most kids’ names even while wearing costumes. “She could see right though those disguises no matter what the costume” said a former student. It was said that Mrs Bird was very efficient, the child always came first and she was very fair with children and teachers. ” Working with her was really a delight, she was very strong on the fundamentals of education” stated by Mrs Tanger who taught under her. Nellie Bird passed away in 1980 and was laid to rest in the Riverside Cemetery. Mrs Nellie Bird was definitely an asset to the Plymouth-Canton Community and her legacy will continue to live on as hundreds of students are educated at the school named in her honor year after year.

Below is a photo of Nellie Bird at the dedication of Bird Elementary School.

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Bird Elementary at 220 Sheldon Rd

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1274 Penniman Ave

19 Mar

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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

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47420 Ann Arbor Trail

26 Feb

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47420 Ann Arbor Trail built in 1928 by Hal Wilson. This storybook looking house that stands at the North West corner of Ann Arbor Trail and Beck Rd is a Cotswold style home with an organic looking cedar shake roof. This home at a quick glance appears to be a humble home but in fact is a 2700 square foot, 5 bedroom residence.  After Mr. Wilson lost this home during the Great Depression, the next owner of this home was Norman Ruehr who used to own Heide’s flowers which at one time was the longest running business in Plymouth. Norman’s parents Reinhold & Louise Ruehr purchased Heide’s flowers in Old Village Plymouth from Carl Heide shortly after they immigrated from Germany. This home was given a couple of names by the locals, most popular were the “Casa Llama” and the “Peacock House”.  This property used to be inhabited by the Ruehr’s pet llamas and they also had peacocks. The front of the home is also decorated with a large peacock, thus the names it was known as. Inside you could find the presence of an Armor suit and a number of interesting items that were brought from places around the world that they had traveled to. One could overlook these items while standing from the second floor balcony inside. The current owner purchased this home from Emily Ruehr the widow of Norman who passed away in 1997. This is a very unique home that we hope to see will continue to be a part of Plymouth’s landscape for many years.

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905 Penniman Ave

2 Aug

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905 Penniman. Built Circa 1886. This home stands at the South West corner of Penniman and Harvey Street. This place once served as the home of Nettie Dibble who lived here for several years from the 1920s up until her passing in 1944. Nettie was quite active in the community and also Authored “History of the Presbyterian Church in Plymouth” and “Historical Data of Plymouth Twp”. At one time this home was completely covered in siding which covered the brick work. In 1991 this home was remodeled and the siding was removed to reveal the hidden bricks by the current owners Dubois-Cooper Associates who now use this as a commercial office.

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1338 Penniman Ave

6 Mar

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1338 Penniman Ave at the intersection of Evergreen Street. Built in 1860 by Isaac M. Hoag. Isaac purchased the property that this home sits on from E.J. Penniman in 1858 and built this home for his family 2 years later. Mr. Hoag farmed this land and was a nurseryman. He actually operated a nursery from this home. If you look closely at the back of this residence, it appears to have a small house attached to the back side. It is believed that a small home was moved and added to the overall residence although it is unclear as to when this occurred or where the smaller structure was moved from. In the early 1900s more of the home’s property was slowly subdivided and additional homes were built around it. It was recorded that at one time this home had a number of large apple trees on the property.  In 1936 this home had been significantly remodeled by architect Thomas Moss. Although this Civil War era home has seen a number of occupants through the years, today it’s hard to miss this place when taking a cruise down Penniman and it’s easy to appreciate how well it’s survived.

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860 Penniman Ave

2 Jan

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Construction of this Post Office began in 1935. On April 1st 1936 this branch known as the Pursell Station Post Office opened it’s doors to the public. This branch was closed in the Spring of 2014 and we are happy to announce this brief post about the future of this historic building. This Post Office was purchased by Plymouth Residents, Mark & Patty Malcolm who happen to also own other historic structures in Plymouth and are actively involved in the Plymouth Preservation Network … Meaning that we can only expect good things to happen with this piece of history. The Malcolms have signed a long-term lease with the Westborn Market to take residence here. There are also plans to restore the building and preserve much of it’s historical substance including a painted mural inside the building titled “Plymouth Trail” by Carlos Lopez who was commissioned to paint the mural by the U.S. Government in 1938.

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306 S. Main Street

21 Dec

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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.

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149 W. Liberty Street

5 Nov
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The structure on the left is 149 W. Liberty Street built Circa 1887. In 1885 this property belonged to William Markham who was famous in the Air Rifle Industry, that year he sold it to Peter Gayde who was a Plymouth business owner who happened to own a store just a few doors down. Peter Gayde purchased this property to build the structure you see today for his Son William. This building was originally the Butcher Shop of William Gayde which operated for several years. Peter passed away in 1901 and the deed was transferred into William’s name in 1909. This structure has seen a number of occupants through the years but today it’s now the home of Liberty Street Brewing and is well worth checking out. Even if you’re not a drinker, it’s a great piece of Plymouth History worth stopping in to see.Liberty Street Brewing Web Page: http://libertystreetbeer.com/about-us/

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46645 W. Ann Arbor Trail

20 Jul

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46645 W. Ann Arbor Trail. Built by Moses Allen in 1842. The property where this home was originally built was purchased by Moses Allen in 1829. Today the property that Moses Allen purchased and built this house on is now the Plymouth Township Park. Moses originally built a smaller one story home but in 1847 he sold the property to his Son John Allen. John added onto this house and expanded it to a larger two story house. John Allen passed away in 1872 but his family continued to live in the house into the early 1900’s. By the early 1970’s this home had become a run-down condemned structure. The original plan was to tear this house down and make way for the park. Doug Cash, a local landscaper felt that this home had historical significance and couldn’t imagine seeing this house become a pile of rubble. Doug offered to purchase this house from the Township but officials refused to sell it to him and had hired a company to tear it down. Because the Township hired a company to demolish or remove this house, Mr. Cash offered the company money to not tear down the home and have it moved to property he purchased right across the street. Doug was met with several obstacles from the Township who wanted to see the home disappear. Mr. Cash went to Lansing and recruited the help of the State Historical Society to save the home. After fighting through several obstacles with local government, Doug finally prevailed and invested so much of his time and money to not only save this home but to also restore this house and make it into the wonderfully preserved house that it is today.

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838-846 Penniman Ave

28 Feb

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836-846 Penniman Ave. Built Circa 1893. Look closely, there’s a historic home hidden within these walls. This was actually the residence of Dr. Coleman who was a family practitioner. In the early 1920’s this home was moved up closer to the street from its original spot (farther back) by builder John Patterson. Patterson built the commercial brick façade that made Dr. Coleman’s old house virtually unrecognizable. When the initial makeover was completed, this location became home to Pettingale’s Grocery store which was well known in the community for several years. When you look behind this building you can still see significant parts of Dr. Coleman’s old home.

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711 Ann Arbor Trail

6 Dec

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711 Ann Arbor Trail. Built Circa 1889 by Charles Miller. This Tudor Revival style house is most known for serving as the home and office of Doctor Luther Peck. Doctor Peck was born in 1880 and moved to Plymouth in 1904. He originally lived in a home that once stood at the South East corner of Ann Arbor Trail and Deer Street. This home sits at the South West corner of that that same intersection. Doctor Peck purchased this home in 1920 and passed away here in his house in 1963. Luther was known for being a colorful physician and there are still members of our community that can claim that he brought them into this world. Although this house has seen many modern changes, it still retains the original structure that sits on a stone foundation. Today this home is used for commercial purposes.

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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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Welcome to Plymouth MI Discoveries!

4 Jul
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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

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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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298 S. Main Street

1 Jul

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

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Below is a photo of Penniman Ave and Main Street where you can see how Conner Hardware appeared in the 1940s.

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587 West Ann Arbor Trail

27 Jun

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.

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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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331 N. Main Street

27 Jun

331 N. Main street. Built in 1910 was originally Bonafide Manufacturing and Garage. You could have your old Ford serviced here. This was also Bonafide Manufacturing where fishing lures and frog spears were made. For years this was most known as Allison Chevrolet (bottom photo). This used to be a single story building but was heavily modified. The historical photo is of the same building circa 1912. The angled structure of the current day photo is actually a covered ramp used to drive cars up to the second floor when this was a car dealership.
The current business is very welcoming to visitors, it’s currently Plymouth Furniture Refinishing  http://plymouthfurniturerefinishing.net/

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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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