Axford-Coffin Farm
Historic Photo, sourced from the National Register of Historic Places filing
Axford-Coffin Farm — historic photograph, National Register of Historic Places filing, Detroit
National Register of Historic Places Filing
Founded as a farm by John Axford in the 1830s and 40s and reconstituted as a country retreat by Detroit businessman and U.S. Congressman Howard A. Coffin beginning in 1939, Cranberry Lake Farm reflects the establishment of country retreats by prosperous Detroiters in the countryside of Oakland County and, more particularly, Oakland County's Oakland Township and vicinity, in the early twentieth century when the automobile and improving roads made these areas more readily accessible. In this rapidly developing suburban area of Oakland County Cranberry Lake Farm provides an increasingly rare example of one kind of retreat that made use of old farm places. The house and other surviving buildings and landscaping provide an example of how former farm places were adapted to country estate or retreat uses while retaining elements of their former agricultural character.
Physical Description
Cranberry Lake Farm comprises a farmstead of 16.659 acres on the south boundary line of a 191-acre parcel of land, which is bordered by Predmore Road to the south, Romeo Road to the north, and privately owned parcels to the east and west in Oakland Township, Oakland County, Michigan. This farmstead includes a main dwelling; a caretaker house; several agricultural outbuildings including sheds, a silo, and barn foundation; country estate features including a carriage house, greenhouse, springhouse, pond with pump house, flagpole remnant, and outdoor oven/fireplace; and natural elements including an apple orchard, mature trees, ornamental plantings, and grassy fields within the 16.659 acres.
NRHP Ref# 02000159 • Data from National Park Service • Content available under CC BY-SA 4.0
Historic Photos
(13)Sourced from the National Register of Historic Places filing
Axford-Coffin Farm — Axford-Coffin Farm — historic photograph, National Register of Historic Places filing, Detroit
Public Domain (Michigan filing for National Register of Historic Places)
From Wikipedia
The Axford-Coffin Farm, also known as Cranberry Lake Farm, is a farmstead located at 384-388 West Predmore Road in Oakland Charter Township, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.
History John Axford purchased this farmstead in 1837, and likely constructed the original frame house at some point in the 1840s. Jacob Kline purchased the farm in 1848, and Kline family continued to own it until 1925. During this time, the farm was likely used to raise dairy cows and fowl. The farm went through multiple owners over the next 15 years, including going through foreclosure in 1929-31. In 1939, Detroit businessman (and later US Congressman) Howard A. Coffin and his wife Abbie purchased the farm and converted it into a country estate. The Coffins altered and added to the farmstead, creating their estate. It is possible that dairy operations on the farm continued during this time. In 1951, the Coffins sold the property to George H. and Guitenna Williamson. The Williamsons lived in California, and let out the house and farm for a series of uses, including cattle farming, as a group home, house farming, and as a commune. In 1996, Oakland Charter Township purchased the property, establishing it as "Cranberry Lake Park." The section containing the farmstead was separately designated "Cranberry Lake Farm."
Description Cranberry Lake Farm is a roughly 16.5 acre parcel within the 167 acre Cranberry Lake Park, which encompasses the entirety of the former Coffin farm property. The farmstead is reached by a gravel drive looping from what is now a parking lot around behind the house and back to the road. The site includes the original farmhouse within the gravel drive loop, and four major outbuildings behind it: a caretaker's house, greenhouse, carriage house, and springhouse. Behind these are two more small outbuildings, and to the west are a silo and the remains of a barn. The house is a Greek Revival structure, originally built in the 1840s and modernized in the 1930s and 40s. It was originally an upright-and-wing form, and various additions have expanded its footprint. It has a fieldstone foundation, fieldstone chimneys, and wood clapboard siding.
See also National Register of Historic Places listings in Oakland County, Michigan
References
External links Cranberry Lake Park Cranberry Lake Park
Content available under CC BY-SA 4.0
Building Details
- National Register
- Listed
- Ref# 02000159