This Queen Anne house was built in 1890 in the southern Michigan town of Hudson. It was built by banking pioneer Gamaliel Thompson. Three generations of the Thompson family lived in the house before it became a museum. It is one of the most original Queen Anne style homes in Michigan both inside and out.
Thank you for Subscribing to Lost In Michigan, If you have not subscribed yet, It would mean a lot to me if you did.
Before Michigan became the automobile capitol of the world, creating wealthy men like Henry Ford and the Dodge Brothers, timber brought vast wealth to many lumber barons. Among them, David Whitney Jr. was one of the most affluent. Already successful in the lumbering business in Massachusetts, he moved to Detroit in 1857 when he was 27 years old. He expanded his operations throughout the Midwest and was popular among the social elite in Detroit. Whitney enjoyed spending time at the Detroit Athletic Club on Woodward Avenue.
In 1890, he began construction of an extravagant home near the club. He had pink jasper stone shipped from South Dakota to accent the exterior. The fifty two rooms inside were trimmed with the finest wood and hand crafted with exquisite detail. The stained glass windows were made by Tiffany’s and are priceless today. The home also contains the first elevator in a private residence in Detroit. After four years of construction, David Whitney Jr. and his wife moved into their new mansion. Six years later at the turn of the century, Mr. Whitney died. His widow, Sara, lived in the home until her death in 1917.
The Whitney family remained owners of the grand house but allowed the Wayne County Medical Society to use the home and the Visiting Nurses Association remodeled the carriage house. The home worked well as a medical center since Wayne State University was nearby which worked with doctors and nurses in training. In 1941, the Whitney family donated the house to the medical society which used it until they built a new facility in 1956. The Visiting Nurses Association used the home for their offices until 1979. Upon learning the home could possibly face demolition, entrepreneur Richard Kughn purchased the historic home.
He spent three million dollars renovating the home, and converted it into a restaurant called The Whitney. Patrons and staff at the restaurant began to witness strange occurrences. One of the most common is the elevator mysteriously moving on its own. Others have said that they have seen a well dressed man looking out the window before suddenly vanishing. Some believe the mysterious man is the spirit of David Whitney Jr. who still resides in the magnificent home. The third floor bar has been given the moniker of Ghost Bar, because of the unusual phenomena witnessed.
Thank you for Subscribing to Lost In Michigan, If you have not subscribed yet, It would mean a lot to me if you did.
The Newton House stands in Fred Russ State Forest northeast of Dowagiac. The house was built in the 1860s, for state legislator George Newton. In 1931, Fred Russ purchased the house and the surrounding 580 acre parcel of timberland. In 1942, he gifted the land to Michigan State University and The University Forestry School used it as part of the Fred Russ Experimental Forest. The house was restored by the Cass County Historical Commission and is now used as a museum.
Thank you for Subscribing to Lost In Michigan, If you have not subscribed yet, It would mean a lot to me if you did.
I thought this house south of downtown Albion was magnificent, and I loved the roof. I see many beautiful old houses and wonder about their history but thankfully it had a Michigan Historical Marker proudly posted in front of it which reads:
Augustus P. Gardner (1817-1905), a wealthy hardware merchant, built this Victorian style house in 1875. A three-story, thirteen-room mansion with a mansard roof, it was Gardner’s home until his death in 1905. In 1966, after decades of neglect, the house was purchased by the Albion Historical Society. Restored, it houses a local museum. Five of the rooms are furnished as a nineteenth century home, and the remainder feature permanent and rotating exhibits. This house is among the last of its type in the area.
I wonder if I am the only one who reads the markers posted around the state but I am grateful for the information they provide.
Michigan has a few lumbering and mining ghost towns scattered around the state. Near the old historic Quincy Mine north of Hancock, I saw these old forgotten houses. They are on US-41 in Franklin Township. I call them ghost houses because the area still has people living and working in it, but I assume these were old miners’ houses. The name of the town where these houses stand is or was Franklin Mine, named after the mine in the area. They look as if the historical society or someone is preserving them. The old houses make me wonder about the people who lived in the Keweenaw and worked in the mines. It must have been a hard life back in the day.
Thank you for Subscribing to Lost In Michigan, If you have not subscribed yet, It would mean a lot to me if you did.
This Second Empire style mansion In Port Sanilac was built in the 1870s by Doctor Joseph Loop. A native of New York, Loop moved to Oakland County, Michigan, in 1843. he and his wife, Jane Gardner Loop pioneered this land in Sanilac County in 1854, and after graduating from the University of Michigan medical department in 1855, he opened a practice in Port Sanilac. When this home was built, he kept an office on the lower floor, and serviced a forty-mile circuit, bringing medical care to much of the county. Doctor Loop died in 1903 at the age of ninety-three, leaving the home to his only child, Ada. She and her husband, the Reverend Julius Harrison passed it in turn to one of their sons, Captain Stanley Harrison. In 1964 he deeded it to the Sanilac County Historical Society for a museum.
Thank you for Subscribing to Lost In Michigan, If you have not subscribed yet, It would mean a lot to me if you did.
This stone mansion in Dowagiac is known as “The Rockery”. The historic 1890’s Romanesque Mansion was built for Fred and Katie Lee, Fred was president of the 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 has recently been sold to new owners. I am not sure what the plans are for this historic home but it is beautiful with the stone façade.
Thank you for Subscribing to Lost In Michigan, If you have not subscribed yet, It would mean a lot to me if you did.
This grand old castle in Grand Rapids was designed by local architect William G. Robinson, this castle-like edifice was constructed in 1884-86 for Colonel E. Crofton Fox and his brother Charles. Built of granite block imported from Scotland, this house is a fine example of Chateauesque Style architecture. A Heritage Hill landmark, this house features leaded and stained glass windows, and a metal stair dormer superbly crafted to resemble stone. Its interior is adorned with parquet flooring in the entry hall and a carved oak staircase. It was refurbished as a restaurant in 1978 and last time I saw it the old house was being used as a dentist office.
Thank you for Subscribing to Lost In Michigan, If you have not subscribed yet, It would mean a lot to me if you did.
This grand old house sits in Grand Rapids. A historical marker stands near it and reads:
This elegant and perfectly preserved Victorian mansion was built for Carl G. A. Voigt in 1895. Voigt came to Grand Rapids in 1870 and ran a mill and dry goods store with W. G. Herpolsheimer. In 1902, when the partnership ended, Voigt took over the milling works. The house designed by eminent local architect William G. Robinson, was inspired by the chateaux at Chenonceaux, France. The interior is furnished opulently with original possessions of the Voigt Family. In 1972, a year after the death of the last occupant, Ralph Voigt, the house became a public museum.
Thank you all so much for reading my posts. I just wanted to let you know that I have just published my latest book Lost In Indiana. If you live in southern Michigan and like to travel to the Hoosier state, or just like reading about interesting places in the United States, I hope you will check it out. You can see a preview of it on Amazon HERE
Thank you for Subscribing to Lost In Michigan, If you have not subscribed yet, It would mean a lot to me if you did.
This beautiful old house stands along M-25 south of Lexington. I am not sure about its history but it is now a bed and breakfast.
Thank you for Subscribing to Lost In Michigan, If you have not subscribed yet, It would mean a lot to me if you did.