207 North Ann Arbor Street

Architectural Description: In the 1994 Kosky & Glynn Survey, this house was described as a two-story, gable-front Folk house. An Eastern Michigan University graduate student research paper (from 2003) suggested that this house contains enough architectural evidence to be labeled as a "two story, Greek Revival structure with a hipped roof Italianate rear addition."  The house is wood framed and clad with aluminum siding. The front gabled façade faces east and has an off-center entry (on the north side of the porch) with a portico roof and wood supports. The T-shaped addition on the rear of the house has separate entrances on each of its three elevations. The two side entrances on the wing have gabled canopies and the rear entrance (facing west) has a shed canopy. The house has a gravel driveway to the north that is shared with 209 North Ann Arbor. According to the student report, a photograph from 1931 showed the front façade with shutters on the windows. The North Ann Arbor Study Committee Report stated that early photographs (no dates mentioned) from another time showed the house decorated in “a multi-colored scheme, with Italianate brackets and porches." It is uncertain how this house looked originally. However, the main core of the structure bears a striking resemblance to 201 North Ann Arbor St. (the "House of Mayors"), which was probably built around the same time. Judging from the historic photo of 201 North Ann Arbor Street, 207 North Ann Arbor Street likely looked very similar to 201 in the late 1800s.

History: According to an extensive report written by graduate student Dan Gallio in 2003, the construction date of this structure was is somewhat inconclusive. Early deeds on this parcel were difficult to trace, due to the re-platting of this section in 1937. However, research indicated that Joseph Bickford owned this property until 1849, when he sold it Theron and Aurelia Ford. The Fords then sold it to Laura Jackson in 1851. At the time, the parcel was a combination of this property and another (now where 209 North Ann Arbor sits). According to the research paper, the 1864 map of Saline, published by Samuel Geil, shows a structure with a profile similar to the main core of the house today. The student report concluded that this house was probably built sometime been built between 1856 and 1864. (Saline historian Robert Lane believes that parts of this house date to before 1850.) Laura Jackson sold the house in 1864 to Matilda Forbes. At the time Matilda purchased the house, she had already married Jortin Forbes (this was his second marriage). This house is associated with the small house next door (209), which was the Millinery Shop. Matilda Forbes was a milliner (women’s hat designer). She owned the millinery shop at the property next door (209) with her husband, Justin Forbes (he eventually deeded the ownership to her in 1872). The house at 207 was sold in 1904 to the Forbes’ daughter, Minnie (Forbes) Rouse and her husband, Preston Rouse. The house was kept in the Forbes family until at least 1917, with the death of Minnie (Forbes) Rouse.
In the publication Saline Has a Past in Its Future, 211 North Ann Arbor was listed as the Forbes House, not 207. However, there is no indication on the abstract of 211 that the Forbes family ever lived at 211. By 1920, research indicated that the house was turned into a single-family rental unit, due to the rapid turnover of occupancy in a short amount of time.

One family who rented the house was Everett Davenport and his wife, Ada. A terrible tragedy involving their brutal murder/suicide occurred in this house in 1923, according to an article in the Saline Observer (dated May 24, 1923). The article stated "Mr. And Mrs. Davenport, who had spent many years together, had always been a happy and loving couple and seemed to enjoy the society of each other, but it has often proved that in an unbalanced mind one will first turn against one’s best friend. They have been residents of this place for the past 15 years. …William Sweet has purchased the Davenport property, opposite the School House, and will convert the large house into a two family flat." The house has probably been divided into four separate apartments since 1941, in the same configuration as it is today.

Sources:
"Historic District Study Committee Report of North Ann Arbor Street Local Historic District." 2004.

Gallio, Dan. "A Profile of Saline’s Historic Properties: 207 North Ann Arbor Street." Graduate Student Report, Eastern Michigan University, 2003.

Kosky & Glynn Associates. "Historical and Architectural Survey." Saline, Michigan. 1994.

Saline Has a Past in Its Future. Saline, Michigan: Saline Historic District Commission, 1976.

Saline Observer, May 23, 1923. Clark Historical Library Newspaper Collection.

http://condor.cmich.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/p15076coll5.

Suggested Reading: McAlester, Virginia & Lee. A Field Guide to American Houses. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. 1984.

 

Prepared by Lori Swick

April 17, 2013

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