Charles Torrey House
Also known as: Torrey, Charles, House
Historic Photo from NRHP Filing
Charles Torrey House — historic photograph, National Register of Historic Places filing, 1141 Foxwood Ct., Bloomfield Township, Birmingham, Detroit
National Register of Historic Places Filing
The Charles Torrey House in Oakland County is significant as one of only a few surviving substantially unaltered vernacular, Greek Revival houses from Bloomfield Township's early settlement period. The post-and-beam house is primarily associated with Charles Torrey, a pioneer from upstate New York. Later, it became the home of Philander Walton, Charles Torrey's son-in-law, a prosperous farmer and community leader. The period of significance for the Charles Torrey house is from 1847, when the Charles Torrey family moved there, until 1906 when Philander Walton (Charles Torrey's son-in-law) died. During this time period, Oakland County underwent a profound change from a rural, agricultural society, to a suburban one, based on the development of the industrial cities.
Physical Description
The Charles Torrey House is a Greek Revival, New England, one-and-one-half-story cottage with ell, located on Squirrel Road within the Township of Bloomfield, Oakland County, Michigan. The five-bay wide, wood frame house is located on a hilltop and the facade faces east towards the road. The plan is L-shaped with a one-and-one-half-story core block and an attached one-story ell extension. A wide entablature with five frieze windows and a central entry portico which is supported by square Doric columns distinguish the facade.
The interior and exterior of the house reflect a vernacular adaptation of the Greek Revival style. Both the traditional New England floor plan and house type, as well as the national Greek Revival stylistic influence, are present in this house. The interior detailing is still intact with original window and door moldings, high baseboards and window panels, fireplace mantels and pilasters. The house, garage and barn are all in their original location on the property and are of post-and-beam construction.
The wood frame house is sided with weatherboard and sits on a fieldstone foundation with a partial basement and crawl space located beneath the ell.
Architect/Builder
Unknown
NRHP Ref# 92000585 • Data from National Park Service • Content available under CC BY-SA 4.0
Historic Photos
(6)Sourced from the National Register of Historic Places filing
Charles Torrey House—Charles Torrey House — historic photograph, National Register of Historic Places filing, 1141 Foxwood Ct., Bloomfield Township, Birmingham, Detroit
Public Domain (Michigan Filing)
From Wikipedia
The Charles Torrey House is a single-family house located at 1141 Foxwood Court in Birmingham, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.
History Charles Torrey was born in 1804 near in Madison County, New York. In 1830, he married Mary Van De Water. In 1833, the Torreys settled in Auburn, Michigan (now part of Auburn Hills, and in 1834 purchased this section of land in Bloomfield Township. Charles Torrey, however, had other vocations, as a carpenter and cabinet maker, and eventually as a sawmill owner, and he elected to continue living in Auburn. The family stayed there until 1848, when they sold their house there and moved to the farm. This was likely the year that the house was built on the property, although the sections of the house that are now in the rear may pre-date 1848. Charles and Mary Torrey lived here until Mary's death in 1879. In 1881, Charles divided his property among his three daughters, but continued to live in the house until 1883, when he moved in with his daughter Elmira and her husband Philander Walton. Charles Torrey died in 1891, and in 1892 Philander Walton purchased the Charles Torrey farmstead from Torrey's youngest daughter, Theresa Torrey Scott, who lived out of state. Elmira Walton died in 1897, and in 1902 Philander Walton moved into the Torrey farmstead for the summer, maintaining a residence in Pontiac for the winter. Walton died in 1906, passing the farmstead to his daughter Alice Walton Howard. She sold the Torrey farm to real estate speculator William Hendrie in 1916, who used it as a weekend retreat. He later subdivided the surrounding land, and by 1986 the house had only a 2.6 acre parcel associated with it.
Description The Charles Torrey House is a 1-1/2 story post-and-beam Greek Revival house with a rear ell. The main section is symmetrical, and five bays wide. There is a central entry portico supported by square Doric columns. The entry door is flanked with triple light sidelights and topped with a transom. Two six-over-six, double-hung windows are on each side of the door. Five frieze windows are above. On the inside, the entryway leads to a vestibule, with a formal parlor to one side and an informal parlor to the other. The dining room, containing the stairs to the second story, is behind. Two bedrooms and a bathroom are upstairs.
Content available under CC BY-SA 4.0
Building Details
- Address
- 1141 Foxwood Ct., Bloomfield Township, Birmingham
- National Register
- Listed
- Ref# 92000585