Hubbard-Kesby House

The John and Betsy Moore Kesby House exemplifies the evolution of pioneer-era farmhouses in Milford. The house possesses historical significance for its association with local pioneers originally from England. In 1832 Evert Woodruff purchased two sections of land in Milford Township from the federal government for two hundred dollars. The following year he sold the land to Samuel Hubbard for $350. Little is known about Hubbard. In July 1837 Hubbard and his wife, Margaret, sold eighty acres of their parcel to Horace Hubbard for one thousand dollars. This price indicates the parcel probably included a house. The Hubbards most likely built their Greek Revival house between 1833 and 1837. Horace and Almeda Hubbard sold the property to John Kesby in 1841. Kesby and his family resided on the neighboring farm. According to the autobiography of Kesby's step-son John Moore, John Kesby traded farms with Samuel Hubbard (probably father to Horace). John Kesby, his wife, Betsy Moore Kesby, her son John Moore and her brother Alfred Crawford had come to Milford Township from Cooperstown, New York, in 1834 and settled on forty acres of farmland in section 29.

The Hubbard-Kesby House is a one- and two-story upright-and-wing, Greek Revival farmhouse modernized and expanded in 1905 with the addition of a second story on the wing. It stands on a fieldstone foundation and has a fieldstone-wall cellar beneath the upright. Located between North Garner Road and Kensington Metropolitan Park in Milford Township, the house faces north on six acres of the original farmstead. The Hubbard-Kesby House, constructed c. 1835/40 with a post-and-beam frame, was a one-and-one-half story upright-and-wing house whose porch-fronted wing extended as far west as the west edge of today's veranda. The upright was raised in 1905 to a full two-story height. The eastern facade is classic Greek Revival with its simple entablature with cornice returns supported by corner boards with the porch featuring square pillars. This house, reminiscent of farmhouses across New England, features covered porches on the east, north and west facades. The porch on the east facade dates to the house's original construction, while the north and west porches were added in 1905 when the house was remodelled. The gable ends demonstrate the low pitch of the roof, a slight eave overhang and a simple entablature with cornice returns supported by the corner boards. The windows are six-over-six 1.-JOoden sash windows. There are multi-styled 1.-Jood panel doors, all believed to be original parts of the structure. The Greek Revival front entrance, immediately adjacent to the west end of the north porch, features pilasters supporting a flat entablature. The bracketed porch appears to date from the 1905 alterations, since a different porch shows in a 1903 photograph. The interior of the house retains its original woodwork. The doors in the earliest part are two-panel and some retain their latches. The window sash are also original. The stairway was moved to the back of the east upright at one time, and was later moved back to its original and present location. All modifications to the structure are older than 50 years and demonstrate architectural integrity. The Hubbard-Kesby House is representative of the evolution of numerous farmhouses constructed during the age of exploration and settlement of rural southeast Michigan.