The Northville Historic District is located in
Northville, Michigan
Northville is a city in Oakland and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 6,119 at the 2020 census.
Northville is a suburb of Metro Detroit and is located about west of the city of Detroit and northeast of Ann Arbo ...
. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1970
and 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 v ...
in 1972.
The
district
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
is roughly bounded by Cady Street, Rogers Street, and Randolph Street;
alterations to the boundaries of the city-designated district in 2003 and 2007 included structures on the opposite sides of the original bounding streets within the district.
The district is located in the heart of old Northville, and is primarily residential, although the 73 contributing structures, include several commercial buildings and a church.
The majority of the district contains
Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
houses constructed between 1860 and 1880.
Architecture
The most significant structures in the district include:
*First Baptist Church (209 N. Wing) -
This church was founded in 1841. The present site of the church building was obtained by the congregation in 1844, and construction began in 1859.
*Masonic Hall (106 E. Main) -
In 1880, the first story of this commercial structure was built by Barton Wheeler. The Masonic Lodge constructed and occupied the floor, resulting in the two stories of the building being owned by two separate parties.
*Freydl Stores (112 and 118 E. Main) -
These commercial buildings were constructed in 1875.
*Oakwood Cemetery (W. Cady) -
The Oakwood Cemetery was established early in Northville's history, and is located on land donated by Daniel Cady and Martin Randolph.
*Ambler House (473 W. Cady) -
The Ambler House was built in 1840, and is a transitional
Greek Revival
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...
style.
*Methodist Parsonage (139 Dunlap) -
The Parsonage was built in 1890 for William and Georgina Yerkes. The house is one of the few
Queen Anne style structures in the district.
*Alfred Heatley Residence (304 Dunlap) -
The Alfred Heatley house, built in the 1870s, is a Victorian-style Gothic house. A wide porch was added to the structure in approximately 1910.
*Dean Griswold House (317 Dunlap) -
The Dean Griswold House is a brick
Italianate
The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...
structure built in 1882.
*Dr. Manfred Lampe Residence (417 Dunlap) -
The Lampe Residence is a cottage Gothic home built in the late 1860s or 1870s.
Mill Race Village
Two of the most significant structures in the district have been moved to the adjacent Mill Race Village, which was established in 1972 as a location where buildings slated for demolition could be moved.
These two are:
*The Cady Inn (formerly at 315 E. Cady) -
This house was built about 1835, and is one of the oldest houses in Northville.
It was moved to its Cady Street location sometime in the latter half of the 19th century, and moved again to the Mill Race Village in 1987.
The
saltbox
A saltbox house is a gable-roofed residential structure that is typically two stories in the front and one in the rear. It is a traditional New England style of home, originally timber framed, which takes its name from its resemblance to a woode ...
style house was believed to have been a tavern and a stop on the
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. T ...
.
*The Yerkes House (formerly 164 E. Cady) -
The Yerkes House was built around 1859 by Henry Wade, the finest area carpenter,
for William Purdy Yerkes, the first village president.
The house has nine rooms, and the Gothic carpentry is in excellent shape.
References
Further reading
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External links
City of NorthvilleHistoric District home page
First Baptist Church of Northville
{{National Register of Historic Places in Michigan
Historic districts in Wayne County, Michigan
Gothic Revival architecture in Michigan
Queen Anne architecture in Michigan
Michigan State Historic Sites
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan
National Register of Historic Places in Wayne County, Michigan