East River Road Historic District

National Register

National Register of Historic Places Filing

Local SignificanceArchitecture1840s-1905

Prominent Detroit merchants, William and Alexander Macomb, purchased Grosse Ile from the Potowatomi Indians, July 6, 1776. By 1860 when a Wayne County land ownership map was published, the island boasted about fifty property owners. Nine of them agreed to subscribe to the map and were listed with their occupations. These included five farmers, a school principal, a part-time farmer and hotel proprietor, and Dallas Norvell who operated a fishery on nearby Stony Island. His home, which is indicated on the map, is among those within the East River Road Historic District. A Mrs. Norvell was listed separately as a farmer, and her home was next to his on the site of the present Michigan Central Railroad depot. The well-known architect, Gordon W. Lloyd, is shown as the owner of a lot in the district. He may have been considering the lot for his own residence. In any case, he later built his Swiss Chalet-style residence on the riverfront in Ontario. Lloyd was a noted church architect skillful in the use of the Gothic Revival style, and he was later commissioned to build St. James Episcopal Church in that style. His other activities on Grosse Ile included designing the country residence of Circuit Court Judge Samuel Townsend Douglass, which was completed in 1860 and appears on the map. Hawkins Ferry described the Douglass House: 'it epitomized the new vogue for country living. Scalloped vergeboards, ornamental brick chimneys, and an assortment of porches added interest to this charmingly rustic dwelling.' In the early days, Douglass would remain in Detroit all week and return to Grosse Ile weekends by steamer during the warm months or by cutter across the ice in winter. (Douglass appears on the 1860 list as a Detroit subscriber along with the address of his law office.) Samuel Lewis's name also appears on the 1860 map. His house, was under construction when the map was published. It was built by an unknown architect and is another significant architectural component in the East River Road Historic District. With its Gothic windows, ornamental vergeboards and board and batten, the house is an excellent example of Gothic Revival style architecture. Surprisingly, the house is actually brick beneath its board and batten. The Lewis House was noted in Wayne Andrews' Architecture in Michigan as were St. James Chapel and the Douglass House. Lewis was a prominent Detroit capitalist. At the time of his death in 1878, he no longer owned the house on Grosse Ile. He was described as the president of the Detroit Gas Light Company and was one of the directors of the Detroit Savings Bank. Contemporary accounts of Grosse Ile include the following, written in 1874: Grosse Isle (sic) ... on which are a number of extensive and well-cultivated farms. This island has become a very popular retreat for citizens of Detroit during the heat of summer, there being here located good public houses for the accommodation of visitors. Silas Farmer wrote in 1884: Several citizens of Detroit have elegant residences here, and there are many fine farms and homes. The Canada Southern Railroad extends to the island, connected by ferry with the Canada shore. In the 1870s a railroad bridge connected Grosse Ile with the U. S. mainland. The railroad's right-of-way across the island follows today's Grosse Ile Parkway. Another railroad bridge ran east of Grosse Ile to Stony Island where ferry service ran to the Canadian shore. When the bridge was scheduled for repairs about 1883, the decision was made to discontinue it instead. By the time the present railroad depot was built in 1905, the Michigan Central Railroad Company had bought out the Canada Southern. Today, the MCRR depot is an integral part of the East River Road Historic District serving as the island's historical museum. Located at the mouth of the Detroit River, Grosse Ile was so-named by early French explorers because it is the largest island in the Detroit River. Since the days when Detroit merchants, William and Alexander Macomb, purchased the island it has been associated with the city. The farm products and fish harvested around the island surely found their way to Detroit markets. While summer brought vacationers from the city, weekend commuters were also a common pattern. Ferry boat and cutter across the ice plus a later railway bridge made commuting possible for island residents.

Physical Description

Located on the east side of Grosse Ile, eleven buildings along East River Road at the intersection of Grosse Ile Parkway constitute the East River Road Historic District. Among the buildings are St. James Episcopal Chapel (already entered on the National Register in its own right), as well as seven private residences, two outbuildings, and the Michigan Central Railroad depot. The depot now serves as the island's historical museum. Five of the buildings are of locally-quarried limestone. Gordon W. Lloyd was the architect of two buildings in the district: St. James Episcopal Chapel and the Judge Samuel Townsend Douglass House. Also of architectural note is the Samuel Lewis House by an unknown builder. Aside from the three turn-of-the-century buildings--the Osborn Cottage, the Smith House, and the MCRR depot--the buildings in the district date from the mid-nineteenth century. The Dallas Norvell House is the oldest and was built in the 1840s. St. James Chapel, the Dudgeon House, the Judge Douglass House, and the Samuel Lewis House follow; they were built in the late 1850s and 1860s in the Gothic Revival style. The Anderson House, in the Swiss Chalet style, was probably built during the 1870s or 1880s. The buildings of the East River Road Historic District face the Detroit River and Canada beyond, with a generally uninterrupted view of marshlands and island along the Ontario shore. Frequently, a Great Lakes freighter comes into view, passing through the Livingstone Channel on the far side of Stony Island en route downriver to Lake Erie or upriver to Detroit. The exteriors of the buildings are basically unaltered, and the buildings are in excellent condition. The island is still a fashionable residential area with overhanging hardwood trees although air pollution is a problem on the northwestern side of the island, overlooking the downriver factories of Trenton, Michigan.

Architect/Builder

Gordon W. Lloyd

NRHP Ref# 74001003 • Data from National Park Service • Content available under CC BY-SA 4.0

Historic Photos

(11)

Sourced from the National Register of Historic Places filing

East River Road Historic District — East River Road Historic District — historic photograph, 1860 Gordon W. Lloyd, National Register of Historic Places filing, E. River Rd., Grosse Ile, Detroit

Public Domain (Michigan Filing)

From Wikipedia

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The East River Road Historic District is a historic district located along East River Road near the Grosse Ile Parkway in Grosse Ile, Michigan. The district is a small island community composed of eleven structures, including seven houses, two outbuildings, St. James Episcopal Church, and the Michigan Central Railroad depot. The district stretches from St. James Episcopal Church on the south to Littlecote on the north. The district was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1972 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. The historically significant 1870s customs house was moved into the district in 1979.

Houses The East River Road Historic District contains several homes built between 1840 and 1870, many of them by Gordon W. Lloyd. The houses in the district are all situated along East River Road, facing the Detroit River with pleasant views and large yards. They are primarily Gothic Revival and Swiss Chalet in style, of both limestone and wood, and heavily ornamented with gingerbread. These homes were built for Detroit's affluent families, who sought clean and peaceful locations to spend the summer out of the unhealthy city atmosphere. Lloyd's Gothic Revival designs contribute to the ambience of the island, making it an attractive location for many of Detroit's most prominent 19th-century families. The residents and architects who built these houses were strongly influenced by Andrew Jackson Downing and his publications, Cottage Residences and The Architecture of Country Houses. Among these houses are:

Dallas Norvell House

This house was constructed of native stone from the quarry on Grosse Ile in 1851 for Dallas Norvell, the son of Michigan U.S. Senator John Norvell. Dallas Norvell (July 28, 1825, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – March 5, 1888, Amerstburg, Ontario) attended the University of Michigan and was later a gentleman farmer on Grosse Ile. He served as supervisor of Monguagon Township (1856, 1860–1866). He also served as Deputy Postmaster of Detroit. About 1870 he moved to Canada, as he felt the Island was becoming too crowded with "City Folks" from Detroit.

Samuel T. Douglass House

The Samuel T. Douglass House, also known as "Littlecote," was built in 1859 for Judge Samuel T Douglass and his wife, Elizabeth Campbell Douglass. It is a Gothic Revival cottage designed by Gordon W. Lloyd. The house is constructed of grey stone and has an ornamental chimney, intersecting gables with pierced bargeboards, numerous porches, and an oriel window.

Anthony Dudgeon House

The Anthony Dudgeon House was built in 1859. It is a Gothic Revival structure designed by Gordon W. Lloyd. Shipping tycoon William Livingstone also lived in this house, calling it "Rio Vista."

Samuel Lewis House

This house was built in 1859 for Samuel Lewis, a prominent Detroit banker. It is one of Michigan's finest examples of a Gothic Revival villa. The house is built of brick with a wooden board and batten veneer exterior. It has an ornamental chimney, intersecting decorative bargeboards, and a large veranda. Formerly known as "The Lilacs" due to a lilac hedge on the property, it is now known as "the Wedding Cake House." After Lewis, Detroit mayor Kirkland C. Barker lived in the house, after which it passed to Frank Osburn. The house has never been remodeled.

Frederick Anderson House

This house was built in 1881 for Dr. Frederick Pope Anderson and his wife, Mary Campbell Douglass (the daughter of Samuel T Douglass). It is a stick-style Victorian house, and boasts it a secret passage and a hidden bedroom.

St. James Episcopal Church

St. James Episcopal Church was constructed primarily with funds willed for the purpose by Lisette Denison Forth, a former slave. Forth had worked for some time in the household of Detroit mayor John Biddle and had become friends with Biddle's wife, Eliza. The two women, sharing an Episcopalian faith, made a vow to eventually build a chapel. When Lisette Forth died, she left the bulk of her estate, some $3000, to build a church. Eliza Biddle's son William, knowing his mother's wishes, supplemented Lisette's contribution with some of his own and some of his mother's money. William's brother James donated the land for the chapel, and the two hired architect Gordon W. Lloyd to design the structure. The resulting church is a front-gable, Carpenter Gothic frame structure. The walls a vertical board and batten, and pierced bargeboards line the gables. The entrance is located on one side under a gable, and a frame steeple tops the church. The building has stained glass lancet windows, including the 1898 Tiffany window, Angel of Praise, which measures 11 feet by five-and-a-half feet. In the years since its construction, the church has undergone several repairs and had multiple additions, but the main structure remains substantially original and in excellent condition. The red doors of the structure are dedicated to the memory and benevolence of Lisette Denison Forth.

Michigan Central Railroad Depot

In 1873, Canada Southern Railway established a freight system across Grosse Ile, ferrying goods and passengers from nearby Amherstburg, Ontario, to Stony Island, then transporting them via rail across Grosse Ile along a track laid where the present-day Grosse Ile Parkway runs and thence to the mainland. Canada Southern built a passenger station and other facilities on Grosse Ile, on land purchased from the widow of Senator John Norvell, Isabella Hodgkiss Freeman Norvell and her son Dallas Norvell. However, the railroad soon ran into financial difficulties, and about 1880, the Michigan Central Railroad purchased Canada Southern. Michigan Central already operated a ferry service in Detroit, and phased out the operation in Grosse Ile. However, the population of affluent residents on Grosse Ile was growing, and the railroad expanded its passenger service, running as many as three round-trip trains from Detroit to Grosse Ile. In 1904, the Michigan Central Railroad constructed this depot to replace the earlier frame structure. The depot is built of yellow brick with contrasting base, window surrounds, and quoins made of red brick. The depot has been used since 1967 by the Grosse Ile Historical Society. The location of the station is cited upon land originally belonging to Isabella Hodgkiss Norvell, wife of US Senator John Norvell of Michigan.

U.S. Customs House

The Customs House was built in 1871 at what is now 7799 Macomb Street to service the ferry and freight line being constructed by the Canada Southern Railway. With the stoppage of freight traffic, the customs house closed in 1883. The building later served as Grosse Ile's first post office, and in 1904 it was converted to a private house. In 1979, it was restored and moved to its present location behind the depot. The Customs House was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1982, and the building is currently used by the Grosse Ile Historical Society.

References

Further reading Isabella E. Swan (1968), The ark of God: a history of the Episcopal Church, Grosse Ile, Michigan Elizabeth P. Gannon; Grosse Ile Historical Society, Grosse Ile : Final Report: History of the Customs House and the Grosse Ile Historical Society, Grosse Ile Historical Society Grosse Ile Historical Society (2007), Grosse Ile, Arcadia Publishing, ISBN 978-0-7385-5050-3 Isabella E. Swan (1976), The deep roots: a history of Grosse Ile, Michigan, to July 6, 1876, Swan Woman's improvement association of Grosse Ile (1907), The treaty tree and memorial tablet, Grosse Ile, Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford company Andrew Jackson Downing (1856), Cottage residences: or, A series of designs for rural cottages and cottage villas, and their gardens and grounds, adapted to North America (4 ed.), Wiley & Halsted Andrew Jackson Downing (1856), The architecture of country houses: including designs for cottages, farm-houses, and villas, with remarks on interiors, furniture, and the best modes of warming and ventilating. With three hundred and twenty illustrations, Appleton

External links Detroit Mayor K.C. Barker & General Custer (Barker lived in the Wedding Cake House)

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