319 North Ann Arbor Street

319 North Ann Arbor Street
Date of Construction: 1891

Historic Photo Courtesy of Robert Lane

Photo by Lori Swick
February 2013

This house is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as part of the North Ann Arbor Street District.

Architectural Description: This cross-gabled Queen Anne style house is two-and-one-half stories in height. There are many visually interesting features on the façade of this house, such as the corner tower, sleeping porch and eyebrow dormer. The corner tower features a peaked roof, dentil moldings beneath the eaves, fishscale shingles, a stained glass window and a tall arched window at the second story level. The sleeping porch on the second story has spindlework supports and balustrade and the gables feature fishscale shingles and sunbursts. The full width wrap around porch replaced the original front and side porches (seen in the historic photo) sometime around 1912. The existing porch has round support columns, set on stone piers, a spindlework balustrade, and dentil molding beneath the eaves.

History: According to the Kosky & Glynn Survey, Charles Sauer built this house in ca. 1891 for Egbert P. Harper. The 1880 U.S. Census lists Egbert's occupation as "farmer", living in in Lodi Township, where he owned a 240 acre farm and raised Merino Sheep, prized for their soft wool. Egbert Harper died on February 9, 1893, just a short time after this house was built.

Local historian, Robert Lane, reported that Egbert's obituary stated the following: "He was born in Wayne County, N.Y. October 24, 1832. On June 29, 1855, he married Miss Jane Fellows, then a resident of Lodi Center. Egbert was the youngest of 8 children. He was elected to the honorable position of State Representative for 2 terms from 1884 to 1887 inclusive."

The 1994 Survey indicated that Mr. Harper also served as Lodi Township supervisor and Justice of the Peace. In 1916, Arthur Wood, a prominent sheep breeder, was listed as the occupant of this house. Arthur died in 1930 and his widow, Clara, died in this house in 1935 (Saline Observer, March 7, 1935).

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

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

National Register of Historic Places, North Ann Arbor Street Historic District, Saline, Washtenaw County, Michigan, National Register #85002958

Saline Observer, March 7, 1935. Clark Historical Library Newspaper Collection. http://condor.cmich.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/p15076coll5.

Sommers, Laurie. "National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form: Historic Resources of Saline, Michigan--Partial Inventory: Historic and Architectural Properties." National Park Service.

United States Federal Census. Year: 1880; Census Place: Lodi, Washtenaw, Michigan; Roll: 608; Family History Film: 1254608; Page: 179A; Enumeration District: 231; Image: 0664. http://www.ancestry.com/

"U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989." ancestry.com. http://home.ancestry.com/.

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

Prepared by Lori Swick
April 17, 2013