Joseph D. Yerkes House
Also known as: Yerkes, Joseph D., House
Historic Photo from NRHP Filing
Joseph D. Yerkes House — historic photograph, National Register of Historic Places filing, 42580 Eight Mile Rd., Novi, Detroit
National Register of Historic Places Filing
The Joseph D. Yerkes House is significant as the one-time home of Joseph D. Yerkes, a member of one of Oakland County's pioneer families, and possesses architectural importance as a particularly fine and well-preserved local farmhouse exemplification of High Victorian residential design. By virtue of its unusual towered design and its handsome exterior detailing, the J.D.
Yerkes House stands out among the High Victorian dwellings of what was then largely rural Oakland County. The names of neither the designer nor builders of the house are known; however, the use of the ogee-arch motif in the porch is somewhat characteristic of this area.
Physical Description
The Joseph D. Yerkes house is a two-story, hip-roof, basically Italianate structure of somewhat irregular outline, with a projecting mansard roof tower in the center of the facade. The house's broadly projecting eaves display paired brackets and the frieze panels beneath them have centrally positioned rondelle decorations. A modest front porch has Gothic ogee-arch detailing.
The Yerkes house is located on the north side of Eight Mile Road and faces south. Located in Novi, a burgeoning residential community at the western edge of the Detroit metropolitan area, the house nevertheless is still largely surrounded by farm lands. The house consists of a squarish front section measuring thirty-four feet by thirty-two feet across the front, a centrally positioned square front tower, and a one-and-one-half-story rear kitchen wing measuring twenty by twenty-one and one-half feet. The main block of the house has a low hip roof, with widely projecting eaves supported by paired brackets with ball finial terminations.
The square tower, ten by ten feet in floor plan, projects its full width from the house's front wall. It is three stories in height and is capped by a mansard roof, which is clad in inappropriate wooden shake shingles. The tower contains the main front entrance.
Architect/Builder
Unknown
NRHP Ref# 84001822 • Data from National Park Service • Content available under CC BY-SA 4.0
Historic Photos
(7)Sourced from the National Register of Historic Places filing
Joseph D. Yerkes House—Joseph D. Yerkes House — historic photograph, National Register of Historic Places filing, 42580 Eight Mile Rd., Novi, Detroit
Public Domain (Michigan Filing)
From Wikipedia
The Joseph D. Yerkes House was a single-family home located at 42580 Eight Mile Rd in Novi, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, and burned in 1989.
History In 1826, Joseph Yerkes, his sons William and John, and members of their family moved from Romulus, New York to Michigan and purchased land around Novi and Northville. One of those family members was Joseph D. Yerkes, the eldest son of William Yerkes. Joseph D. Yerkes was born in New York in 1819, and helped his father farm upon coming to Michigan. In 1848, Joseph purchased 80 acres from his father at this location. Between 1870 and 1872, he had a house built for himself, his wife, and their three children. Joseph Yerkes died in 1899. The house remained in the Yerkes family until 1959. By the late 1980s, the house had been abandoned for several years and was deteriorating. It was purchased in 1987 with the intention of preserving it; however, preservation efforts never got off the ground. The house was destroyed by fire on August 24, 1989. The "Yerkes Manor" subdivision was built on the location of the house.
Description The Joseph D. Yerkes house was a two-story, hip-roof, Italianate structure with a projecting three-story mansard-roofed tower in the center of the facade. The main section measured 34 feet by 32 feet, with a 1+1⁄2-story rear kitchen ell measuring 20 feet by 21 feet. The front entrance was through double doors in the base of the tower, to one side of which was a small front porch has Gothic, ogee-arch detailing. The windows in the facade were all tall, narrow, double-hung one-over-one units with projecting caps supported by small brackets. Above, the house's broadly projecting eaves were supported by paired brackets, beneath which were centrally positioned roundel decorations. On the inside, the house had a large living room and parlor in the front of the house, separated by a rich wood archway with paneled double doors, and a dining room and library in the rear. The stairs to the second floor began in the living room and ran between the dining room and parlor.
Gallery
Content available under CC BY-SA 4.0
Building Details
- Address
- 42580 Eight Mile Rd., Novi
- National Register
- Listed
- Ref# 84001822