The Governor Robert McClelland House is a private residence located at 47 East Elm Avenue in the city of Monroe in Monroe County,

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. It was listed as a Michigan Historic Site on March 3, 1971, and it was the first property in the county to be listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

on September 3, 1971. The house was named in honor of famed politician Robert McClelland, who owned the house from 1841 to 1853. Today, the house is also part of the larger

East Elm-North Macomb Street Historic District East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

and is located in its original location just east of North Monroe Street ( M-125) and across East Elm Avenue from the

River Raisin The River Raisin is a river in southeastern Michigan, United States, that flows through glacial sediments into Lake Erie. The area today is an agricultural and industrial center of Michigan. The river flows for almost ,U.S. Geological Survey. ...

in one of the oldest sections of Monroe.

History

The property on which this house sites was first platted in 1836. It was sold to Robert McClelland in about 1841, then mayor of Monroe. (note: large pdf file) The house was built in 1841 for McClelland. McClelland was a very well known local and state politician and eventually rose to national politics. He left Monroe to serve in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, representing

Michigan's 1st congressional district Michigan's 1st congressional district is a United States congressional district containing the entire Upper Peninsula of Michigan and 16 counties of Northern Michigan in the Lower Peninsula. The district is currently represented by Republican J ...

from 1843 to 1849. McClelland maintained ownership of the house even after he was elected Governor of Michigan in 1852. It was from this position that he was selected by President Franklin Pierce to be his Secretary of the Interior in 1853. At that point, McClelland sold his house to local merchant Benjamin Dansard. The entire western portion of the house, which contains a library, bedroom, kitchen, and dining room, was not part of the original house and was later added by Dansard. Dansard died in 1888, but the house remained in the family until 1917, when it was sold to Kirke G. Bumpus. Today, the house is privately owned.

Description

The house is a Greek Revival architecture structure. The front entrance was originally off-centered and surrounded by balusters, but these were removed with the addition of the west wing.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McClelland, Robert Monroe, Michigan Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan Greek Revival houses in Michigan Michigan State Historic Sites in Monroe County Houses completed in 1841 Houses in Monroe County, Michigan National Register of Historic Places in Monroe County, Michigan Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Michigan Governor of Michigan