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103 West Henry Street
103 West Henry Street
Date of Construction: 1902
Photo by Lori Swick
September 2012
Architectural Description: This is a two-and-one-half story Queen Anne style house. Considered the "twin" to 101 West Henry Street, the roof is hipped with matching front and side gable projections. The house has a variety of window shapes. There is a full-width front porch that wraps around to the east side.
There are many elements present that are indicative of the Queen Anne style, including spindlework on the porch supports and freize (the decorative element on bottom of the porch roof) and decorative fishscale shingles on the pediment over the entryway and on the top of the roof gable. The gable peaks also contain paired windows and decorative lattice woodwork on the top of the peaks. The current paint scheme on the trim accentuates the details, as was commonly done on Queen Anne houses in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
History: The home was built in ca. 1902, at approximately the same time its neighbor at 101 West Henry was built. Three homes that are located further west on West Henry Street (202, 203 and 205) were constructed in approximately the same year. George Lutz and his bride, Gertrude, acquired this house from the estate of George Nissly after their marriage in 1903. The purchase price was listed at $2,000, indicating that the house already existed. George Lutz served as a village clerk for a number of years and was a bank employee. Mr. Lutz died in 1904, at the age of 30, less than a year after moving into the house. His wife Gertrude remained in the house until the 1940s. This is the only house in the West Henry Historic District that is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, due to its near-original appearance.
Sources: "Historic District Study Committee Report of West Henry/South Lewis Local Historic District." 2001.
Kosky & Glynn Associates. "Historical and Architectural Survey." Saline, Michigan. 1994.
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