Bartlett, Thomas and Maria Blackman, House

The house is significant because it was the home of a pioneer Canton family, the Bartletts, who settled here in 1839. It is also significant as a well-preserved nineteenth-century house of New England large heritage whose present form reflects a series of nineteenth-century enlargements of the original. The ca. 1840 section of the house was built in the settlement era as a Greek Revival Upright and Wing, a style typical of the early settlers. It has been carefully restored to the 1900 time period and demonstrates the changes that a structure undergoes over time. Small "windows" have been left in the house to show the construction methods of an earlier time.

The property at the former location of the Bartlett house was purchased from the government by Stephen and Sally Clark, Ontario County, New York, in 1831. The patent was for 80 acres (the E 1/2 of the NE 1/4 of Section 9). The property was owned next by Peter Lott (no record of sale from Clark), who then sold it to Darius and Charlotte Blackman in 1837 for $300.

In 1839 Maria Bartlett bought the N 1/2 of the E 1/2 of the NE 1/4 (half of Stephen Clark's original land) for $400. Thomas Bartlett married Maria Blackman (Darius Blackman's sister) in 1823. Since Maria bought half of the original 80 acres for an increase in price, there may have been a house on the property. The Bartletts' tax in 1843 was $1.36, and Samuel Lyndon, who owned the other half, was $0.58. This would support the supposition that Darius Blackman had built the house before he sold the land to Maria Bartlett. However, the floor beams are hand-hewn logs and early milled lumber which became available in the ca. 1840. This would suggest that Thomas and Maria Bartlett were the original builders of the house. The early section of the house is of post and beam construction and consisted of a 1-1/2 story upright with a one-story wing. The house had a narrow, winding stairway to the half story or "loft." The 1840 census listed both Stephen Clark and Thomas Bartlett, but not Lott or Blackman.

The Bartletts' tax in 1850 was $2.71. By 1861 Thomas owned two more 40-acre parcels, and his total tax was $160.03. The parcel that contained this house had the highest valuation. When compared to Martin Carleton's 1861 tax of $24.68 for 160 acres (3339 Canton Center), Bartlett's $160.03 for 116 acres suggests major improvements on the Bartlett property. By 1865 Thomas only owned the 40 acres in section 9 and 28 acres of the parcel in section 16.

In 1867 George Bartlett (age 32) bought the property from his parents for $4,000 (he also owned the section 16 property; 78 acres in section 10; and the 38 acres in the SW 1/4 of SE 1/4) -- total tax $57.52. Thomas did not die until 1884, but he may have retired earlier from active farming. As shown below, George greatly increased the size and productivity of the farm. This suggests that most likely it was George who raised the house to two full stories and added the Italianate details. The 1891 atlas showed G. S. Bartlett as still owning the property. The 1900 census listed George's wife, Sarah, as a widow.

The 1860 agriculture schedule of the census showed Thomas Bartlett with 120 acres of clay loam soil with a cash value of $4,800. He had 40 sheep and produced 136 pounds of wool. By 1880 George Bartlett owned the property. The acreage had increased to 250, with a cash value of $10,000. George had 125 sheep and produced 625 pounds of wool. The value of the equipment and machinery increased from $95 to $500 in 1880, and the value of livestock decreased slightly.

In 1880, George paid $500 for labor. The number of milch (milk-producing) cows was nearly the same, but the amount of butter produced increased from 200 pounds in 1860 to 600 in 1880. William and Martha Travis purchased the Bartlett farm in 1908 for $5,400. William S. Travis was born in 1845 in Wallaceburg, Canada. His wife, Martha Cook, was born in 1850. They lived in Pontiac, Dearborn, and Plymouth before moving to Canton Township. The 1912 tax assessment listed the property as the NE 1/4 of the NE 1/4, section 9, 40 acres; and the W 1/2 of the NW 1/4, section 10, 80 acres; total tax $113.04. The tax in 1920 was $234.91, and in 1923 was $65.93; this would indicate some improvement was made in 1919; probably the porch across the front of the house. However, during the restoration, newspapers dating from 1914 were found in the walls on the porch. If the porch was added then, it is possible that the Travises may not have been assessed for the porch addition until 1919. William died about 1924, and the land was divided among the children. His daughter, Ella Rowe, owned the parcel with the house. She continued ownership at least through 1954 (no tax books for 1954-1958). By 1959, Thomas Myers owned the house. In 1961 Mrs. Thomas Myers owned it and operated an antique shop in the home. John Darakjian bought the house in 1975.

In 1988 Ken Dividock, a local realtor, donated the house to Canton Township. The township purchased a 21.62-acre parcel near Ridge and Cherry Hill roads in the hamlet of Cherry Hill. In 1989 the house was moved to the site with a matching grant from the state of Michigan. The move returned the house to a location that is rural; whereas its original site is now surrounded by subdivisions. The house was placed on a new foundation; a new roof was added to protect the house from deterioration; and new chimneys were built. The Historic District Commission hired the firm of Quinn/Evans Architects of Ann Arbor to develop a preservation plan for Cherry Hill Village, including the Bartlett-Travis site.

Rex Harvey, a local carpenter who specializes in the restoration of historic houses, was hired to restore the house. The restoration began in 1994 and was completed in the fall of 1995. Using construction methods as a guideline, he states that the original house was a small Greek Revival structure. The main section was one and a half stories, with a small one-story wing. He believes that in the 1870s the entire structure was raised to two full stories, and the back ell was added in the 1880s. Lastly, the wraparound porch was added in 1914, dated by newspapers found in the walls during the restoration.

The current plan is to develop the Bartlett-Travis house as the cornerstone of a living history farm, with outbuildings, crops, gardens, orchards, and animals. Programs will be developed to introduce visitors to the everyday life of a farm in the 1890-1900 period.

This is a New England Large house with extensions to the side and rear. The north section of the house is stepped down slightly in height. A two-story ell is located behind the north section. The clapboarded house is topped by a wood shingle roof with two brick chimneys and has a cement block foundation faced with fieldstone. There is a wide cornice line adorned with paired teardrop brackets (most of the brackets are original). Most of the windows are four lights-over-four, but there are three six-over-six windows in the rear ell. The small entry porch on the west facade has pilasters on either side of the door with simple molding above. It also has chamfered columns and is accented with scrolled brackets and millwork (the brackets and millwork are mainly original). The simple wood door has one large pane of glass. The entry porch has a wood floor and steps. The roof of the porch is accentuated with a decorative iron railing. There is a large wrap-around porch beginning on the west (front) facade and wrapping around to the south facade (this porch was reconstructed from photographs). It has round wood columns, a wood floor, a solid wood balustrade, and two sets of wood steps (front and rear). The front steps have fieldstone supports. There is a gable with a sunburst design over the rear steps. Three wood and glass entry doors lead from the wrap-around porch into the house. There is a handicapped ramp at the rear of the house leading onto the porch. Details of the brackets and columns are accented by red-brown paint. The body of the house is painted with yellow-gold and the trim in a cream color.

The front parlor (south front) has decorative full height molding around the windows and one door. The molding has "ears" at the top and tapers out slightly as it descends to the floor. There is raised panel molding beneath the windows. The simple baseboard is nine inches wide. Several other rooms have remnants of wide molding. The dining room (north front) had wainscoting that consisted of two plain wide painted boards that will be restored in the future and reinstalled. Several surfaces in the house have remnants of grained painting.

The front of the house was the original house. It was built as a Greek Revival Upright and Wing (1840). The upright was one-and-a-half stories and the wing was one story. There were two large rooms and one small room in the upright on the first floor and three rooms on the second floor. The wing only had one room. Construction details indicate that a large fireplace may have been located in the center room in the upright. At some point, the house was expanded to two full stories and all the windows changed to the present four-over-four configuration (1870s). In the front parlor, the windows were made to fit in the existing openings. Later (1880s), the two-story back ell was added (this section has six-over-six windows). The wrap-around porch was added about 1914. The front door was most likely the original door. In the Victorian updating, the center wood panel was replaced with one large pane of glass.

The original portion of the house is post and beam construction with ash and poplar woods. The back ell is balloon framed. The first floor is made of 10" x 10" hand hewn beams and also early milled lumber. (This would indicate a construction date in the 1840s when milled lumber became available.) Much of the material in the house is original. Some changes have been made to the interior to accommodate its use as a museum (such as adding a modern handicapped accessible bathroom and changing the steep, narrow stairs to make them safer).

This house was formerly located at 7041 Canton Center Road. It was moved to this site in 1989. This property consists of 21.62 acres located on the east side of Ridge Road. It is north of the hamlet of Cherry Hill and within the boundaries of the locally designated Cherry Hill Historic District. The area around the house and outbuildings is cleared and the rest of the property is heavily wooded with thick undergrowth. Only an area 175 x 240 feet around the house is included in this nomination.

This land is on the extreme western edge of Wayne County. At present, the area is very rural in appearance, as the western side of Canton Township contains the last remnants of its agricultural tradition. It is located in the locally designated Cherry Hill Historic District. The house is set on slightly higher ground than the surrounding land. It is located on the "ridge," so-called because it is a raised area of land that runs diagonally across the township. This ridge was the shoreline of a prehistoric lake. The land east of (behind) the house is wooded with thick undergrowth. Currently, the area around Cherry Hill is under intense development pressure.