Tag Archives: Plymouth Michigan History

11808 Haggerty Road

3 Oct

11808haggerty

11808 Haggerty Rd. Built Circa 1855. This home sits at the corner of Haggerty and Gilbert Street. When the current owner purchased this home, the real estate agent told him that the house was built around 1910. After doing some research, we come to find that this house was built in the Mid 1800’s and was the farmstead of Gilbert M. Shattuck and his wife Mary. The farm used to extend from Ann Arbor Trail on the South Side to Plymouth Rd on the North Side and from Haggerty Rd on the West Side to Francis Ave on the East Side (where Miller Park is). This house blends into the row of homes on Haggerty and is hard to tell that it’s been sitting there longer than any other home in that area. We were also able to verify its approximate age based on dated materials discovered by a previous owner when remodelling. When you look closely at the photo, you can see the field stone foundation which is also visible in the basement where there are also signs of hewed timbers. Just another neat piece of Plymouth History!

Tags: ,

46227 Ann Arbor Rd

12 Sep

46227AnnArborRd

46227 Ann Arbor Rd, Built in 1928 by George Smith. This home has a unique story unlike any other when it comes to the building materials used to build this brick colonial style home. Interestingly enough, these are bricks that were repurposed from the World famous Garrick Theatre in Detroit. The Garrick theatre is where Harry Houdini performed for the last time before passing away on October 31st, 1926. In 1928 the theatre located on Griswold was razed and George Smith acquired bricks from the old theatre to help build his dream home. When completed, this home was equipped with some the most modern amenities at the time. World renowned magician David Copperfield also has a brick from this home on display at the International Museum & Library of the Conjuring Arts in Las Vegas. Through the years, this home has been maintained and virtually kept in its original condition. The current owners have continued to keep this great Plymouth landmark in excellent shape and are proud of its mystifying building material history. Considering its location on Ann Arbor Road, there are literally thousands of cars that drive by this home not having a clue of its phenomenal creation. Now that you know, you can share this story and be proud of another great piece of Plymouth history.

Below is a historic photo of the Garrick Theatre and an ad for Houdini’s performance

GarrickHoudiniImage

Tags: , , ,

585 N. Mill Street

4 Oct

585NMill

Built in 1856 as the First Baptist Church now serves as St Michael Melkite Catholic Church. The First Baptist Church moved it’s parish to 45000 North Territorial Rd. In September of 1908, Carrie Nation a radical member of the temperance movement lectured at this church.

Photo of Carrie Nation. Inscription reads:

“Carrey A Nation Home Defender”

Carrey-Nation

Tags: , ,

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

 

Tags: , ,

Daisy Air Rifle Factory on Union Street

26 Jun

This is all that remains of the original Daisy Air Rifle Company (known for the Red Ryder BB Gun of ” A Christmas Story” fame). This wall sits at the North end of Union St.Learn more at:http://www.daisy.com/history

Update Novemeber 2013: After 131 years of standing tall on Union Street, this final piece of the Daisy Factory was demolished

ImageImage

Tags: ,