Henry Richardi moved to Bellaire with his father in 1881 after moving the family business from Missouri.  They made wooden utensils and with the hardwood forests around the Bellaire area, they thought it was the perfect location to set up shop. Partnering with Frederick Bechtold the established the company of Richardi & Bechtold. Henry Richardi purchased the business from his father in 1895. The successful company had over 100 employees making wooden utensils and bowls.

The same year Henry purchased the business, he fell in love with a young woman in Germany. In an attempt to get her to move to the United States and marry him he built this ornate house just north of downtown Bellaire. His employees skilled at woodworking, created all the ornate woodwork outside and inside the house. It featured a hand-carved staircase and different types of wood adorn each room. As beautiful and grand as the home was, for reasons lost to history, the woman Henry loved did not come to this country and marry him. She stayed in Germany marrying another man. With a broken heart, he sold the house and never lived in it. Tragedy struck in 1905 when Henry’s factory burned down. He never rebuilt it and moved to California leaving behind the mansion had built. The house has changed owners several times over the years, and now operates as a Bed and Breakfast called the Grand Victorian.

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Not far from downtown Muskegon is this breathtaking old victorian mansion. With their colorful paint schemes some people refer to these old homes as “painted ladies” This house was built by Muskegon lumber baron Charles Hackley. He moved to Michigan with his father and began working as a laborer in the sawmills. Hackley worked his way up to become a bookkeeper at the mill and then he partnered with Thomas Hume to create a successful lumbering company. In 1887 he built this stunning Queen Anne style home in Muskegon. To keep his family warm in the winter the house has seven fireplaces. It’s really hard to capture the detail of the woodwork along with its ornate 13 color paint scheme.

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This grand old brick Italian Revival house stands proudly in the South Street Historic District in Kalamazoo. William A. Wood built this home for his family in 1877. Unfortunately, he died shortly after moving into the new house but his widow Sarah lived in the home until her death in the early 1900s. in 1905, William E. Upjohn Purchased the home on South Street.  Upjohn was a physician who patented a new type of pill that was easier to crush into a powder and created the Upjohn Corporation. I love the tower with the round porthole style window. It must be a beautiful view out the windows of the ornate brick tower. If you are ever in Kalamazoo take a trip down South Street, there are some beautiful old homes in the neighborhood.

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If you have ever driven through Saline along US-12 you have probably seen this big Victorian house not far from downtown Saline.  The historical marker next to it reads:

This handsome two-and-a-half story residence, constructed in 1875, was the home of William H. Davenport (1826 – 1909), prominent Saline citizen. In 1851, Davenport entered into a partnership with H. J. Miller in a general store. He bought out Miller’s interest in 1853 and became a leading city merchant. Later, Davenport started a private bank in 1885. Since 1902 this bank has been known as the Citizens’ Bank of Saline. Well-known Detroit architect William Scott designed Davenport’s elegant Second Empire home, built at a cost of $8,500.

They don’t build houses like this anymore.

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