257 South Ann Arbor Street

1994 Survey Photo by Kosky & Glynn Associates
Copyright held by the City of Saline

Photo by Cynthia Christensen
October 2012

Architectural Description: This is a front-gabled, vernacular Queen Anne style house with cross gables. It is two-and-one-half stories in height and rests on a stone foundation. There is a full width porch on the west-facing façade with a shed roof that is supported by wood posts. The wood posts, balustrade, and stairs on the both the front porch and south elevation porch have been added since the 1994 Kosky & Glynn Survey. There are one-story additions (also with shed roofs) on the south and east elevations. There is a structure that is set back to the south rear of 257 that is part of the property, but has a separate address: 259 South Ann Arbor Street.

History: The 1915 Standard Atlas of Washtenaw County (Ogle) shows John Henry Barr’s name on this property. J.H. Barr’s cider/sorghum mill was once located where the house at 259 is now situated (see historic photo below).
The earliest listing in Polk’s Saline City Directory for this house was in 1920; the directory listing is as follows: Westphal, Wm., farmer, res. es (east side) Ann Arbor S, 2 s of creek. The previous address for this house was 225.
In the 1945 Saline City Directory, Harold Brown was listed as residing at 225 South Ann Arbor Street (Kosky & Glynn).

Undated Photo of Barr Mill, Courtesy of Kris Frey
The location of the mill is where 257 South Ann Arbor now stands.
The hand written note on the photo reads: "Harold Brown’s house when it was a cider mill."

Sources:
"Historic District Study Committee Report for the South Ann Arbor Street Local Historic District." 2007.

Kosky & Glynn Associates. "Intensive Survey, South Ann Arbor Street, Saline, Michigan." 1994.

Ogle, George A. Standard Atlas of Washtenaw County, Michigan. Chicago: George A. Ogle and Co., 1915.
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/micounty/

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