The Royal Aldrich House is a single-family house located at 31110 West 11 Mile Road in

Farmington Hills, Michigan Farmington Hills is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northwestern Metro Detroit, suburb of Detroit, Farmington Hills is located roughly from downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 United States censu ...

. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1994. It is one of a few remaining Greek Revival style houses in southeast Michigan still located on the site where built.

History

In 1823, Esek Aldrich of

Farmington, New York Farmington is a town located in the northern part of Ontario County, New York, United States. The population was 14,275 at the 2020 census. History Farmington was part of the Phelps and Gorham Purchase. The town was formed along with its coun ...

purchased this land. In 1839, Esek's 24-year-old son Royal moved from New York to Michigan to make a fresh start after the death of his wife and daughter. Shortly after his move, Royal married Betsey Janette Stevens, the daughter of a local farmer. The couple eventually had three children: Almeron, Bruce and Erin. In 1843, Royal constructed this Greek Revival farmhouse on his property. Royal Aldrich died in 1856, passing the farm to his wife and children. In 1870, the farm was sold to Frederick Bade, a German immigrant. The Bade family owned the farm until the middle to the 20th century. In the post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

housing boom, the farm land was subdivided, and the house served as a duplex for a time.

Description

The Royal Aldrich house is an upright-and-double wing

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

of post-and-beam construction. It is covered with clapboard and sits on a fieldstone foundation. The upright section is a two-story front-gable structure with cornice returns and broad architrave and frieze bands. The flanking wings are single story, hip roof sections, both with porches on the front. The windows are six-over-six units; the original movable shutters are still installed. The interior of the house includes a parlor, sitting room, dining room, bedroom, and kitchen on the ground floor, with the kitchen likely a c. 1880 addition. The second floor contains two more bedrooms. The interior is generally simple, with little decoration. Walls are plaster, and the floors are softwood tongue-and-groove planking. The stairs to the second floor are mahogany.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Michigan National Register of Historic Places in Oakland County, Michigan Greek Revival architecture in Michigan