Category Archives: Houses

Murphy’s House

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I saw this beautiful gothic house with white siding and a green roof in Harbor Beach in Michigan’s Thumb. In front of the house was a sign that read MURPHY MUSEM. I stopped and took a pic and then read the bronze plaque proudly displayed out front.

Frank Murphy was born in 1890 in Harbor Beach and graduated from U of M with a law degree. He was elected as Mayor of Detroit and Governor of Michigan.  He served as the U.S. Attorney General and was nominated to the Supreme Court by Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

He was a strong defender of civil rights and as a supreme court justice, he is most noted for speaking out against the Japanese internment camps during World War II declaring it “legalized racism”

This house which stands as a museum and memorial to him was once his home and law office in Harbor Beach. After his death in 1949, he was buried at Our Lady of Lake Huron Catholic Cemetery in Harbor Beach never forgetting his roots in the Thumb.

It’s amazing the things I learn just by stopping to take a pic and reading a sign. I wish I was out traveling right now, but I am staying home and sharing pics from my archive which is good because I forgot all about this pic that I took about a year and a half ago.

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The De Pree House

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This beautiful victorian “painted lady” stands in the west side town of Zeeland. A historical marker proudly stands nearby with a little history on this grand old house and reads:

The Dutch immigrant family of P. Henry De Pree (1865 – 1943) came to the Zeeland area in 1849. With his brother William, P. Henry ran a hardware store and other businesses in Zeeland and Holland. After being elected Zeeland village president in 1904, De Pree helped secure the city’s 1907 charter and became its first mayor. For many years he was Sunday school supervisor in the Second Reformed Church, which his family helped found.

Built in 1899, the Queen Anne style P. Henry De Pree House was one among the first homes designed by Grand Rapids architect Thomas Benjamin (1861 – 1950). Benjamin, with his son Adrian, would later design more than two hundred area homes. businesses and churches. Stained and leaded glass windows are prevalent. White oak was used to finish the interior which included hand-painted details. The home remained in the De Pree family until 1977

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Ocqueoc Shack

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I saw this old shack somewhere near Ocqueoc. I saw it sitting in the summer sunshine. I don’t know its story but I can only imagin the hardship of living in northern Michigan decades ago.

As always I only take pics from the road.

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The Victorian House in Coldwater

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This Victorian-era house in Coldwater is amazing. It was built by attorney Frank Skeels in 1886 and the woodwork on the outside is unbelievable. I can only imagine what it would cost to build a house like that today.

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The Chelsea House

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This beautiful brick victorian house stands in downtown Chelsea. It was built around 1878 for Michigan State Senator James Gorman, a politician, lawyer, and cigar manufacturer.  The house is now a bed and breakfast and is known as the Chelsea House Victorian Inn.

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The Whaley House

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Not far from downtown Flint is the ornate brick house. The historical marker standing in front of it gives some of its history.

The central portion of this handsome Victorian home was built in the late 1850s. Several prominent Flint families lived in it before Robert J. Whaley purchased it in 1884. Whaley a local lumberman and banker, remodeled the house extensively. Three bays, the library alcove and a west-end addition were among the exterior changes. The interior was enhanced by adding ornate woodwork and colorful tiled fireplaces. In 1925, Whaley’s wife endowed the house, making it a home for elderly women. In 1975 it became a public museum.

Robert J. Whaley was born in Castile, New York, in 1840. He moved to Wisconsin with his family in the 1840s, then returned to New York. There he met and married Mary McFarlan of Flint. Whaley and his bride moved to Flint in 1867. Here, he joined his father-in-law in lumbering and later banking. He purchased this gracious structure in 1884. Serving as president of Flint’s Citizens Bank for forty-one years, Whaley was also a trustee for the Michigan Charitable Schools, a Mason, an Elk and a 1912 Democratic candidate for state treasurer. He died in 1922.

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The Rockery

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This stone mansion in Dowagiac is known as “The Rockery”. The historic 1890’s Romanesque Mansion was built for Fred and Katie Lee, President of the famous Round Oak Stove Company. It was built with locally harvested uncut fieldstone and has oak, maple, mahogany, and butternut hardwoods in the floors, walls, and ceilings.  The home was heated back in the day with eight fireplaces. It is currently used as an apartment complex.

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The Painted Lady of Port Huron

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Ornate victorian era homes painted in spectacular fashion are known as “Painted Ladies.” A spectacular example of such a house can be seen on Military Street in Port Huron. This stately residence was built in 1888 for lumber dealer John Jenkinson.  It is one of only three “Hyde Park Villa” homes built in the U.S. designed by Chicago architect George O. Garnsey. The house is still a private residence today.

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The Pigeon House

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When I say “the pigeon house”, I don’t mean a house full of pigeons. I saw this old farmhouse near the town of Pigeon in the Thumb. It probably has pigeons living in it but I don’t know. It looks to be in really bad shape. I am not sure if the guys from Bargain Block could even restore it. I had to mention the HGTV show because I am addicted to it right now. Two guys by abandoned Detroit houses and fix them up and flip them. I don’t normally watch those types of shows but it is Detroit and amazing what they do with some of the old houses they buy for a thousand bucks.  Sorry, I lost my train of thought. Anyways, I stopped and got a pic from the road and moved on. If only walls could talk, they could tell a story of the life this house once had.

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If Walls Could Talk

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I saw this old house somewhere near Port Austin. I don’t know its story and wonder what it would say if walls could talk. It is sad to see these old houses but they are a reminder of the people that came before us and the hard work they endured. I get frustrated when my cell service goes out I can not imagine how hard it was growing up a century ago.

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