Litchfield, James, House

The Litchfield House is a notable southeastern Michigan example of a temple-front, Greek Revival house which displays characteristics of what Talbot Hamlin in Greek Revival Architecture in America called the 'basilica plan.' The property on which the Litchfield House was built was purchased by James Litchfield in 1845 from Judge Samuel Dexter, founder of the village of Dexter. Litchfield came from Connecticut to Washtenaw County, Michigan in the 1830's. He was a cabinet maker by trade and operated a sawmill for some time near Dexter. He may have had business interests in Connecticut as well, for he maintained close ties with family and associates in that state throughout his life. It is probable that Litchfield built the house shortly after he purchased the land. James Litchfield sold the house to his brother, Edward, in 1853, and the structure remained in Litchfield family ownership until about 1950. The garage wing has been added since that time. The house has been consistently well maintained and most of the original fabric remains intact. The style of the Litchfield House may have been influenced by the nearby Dexter House—an imposing Greek Revival house with a Doric temple front and low side wings. Talbot Hamlin suggests that the 'basilica type' house, of which the Litchfield House is an example, was a variation of the winged, temple-front house and that it is a type found almost exclusively in Michigan (Hamlin:294). The Litchfield House is characteristic of the basilica-type house in that its side wings are of far greater depth than width and the slope of the roofs above the wings is approximately equal to that of the main roof. The Litchfield House is also characteristic of the Greek Revival style in general with its rigidly symmetrical principal facade, regular fenestration, and preference for formal architectural effects.

The Litchfield House is a one- and two-story, basilica-type Greek Revival house located at the northeast corner of Central and Third Streets in a residential area on Dexter's north side. Built between 1845 and 1850, the house has a temple front portico of four square columns. Its wood clapboard facades are painted white. A kitchen extension and garage addition on the rear side of the house are executed in an identical style and have minimal effect on the character of the structure. The principal facade faces west. It has a three-bay, two-story, central mass with a pedimented portico supported by four square columns and a pilaster at each corner of the house's front wall. The columns and pilasters are constructed of wood and have smooth surfaces. The columns are not evenly spaced; rather, the central bay is wider than the others, adding visual prominence to the central entrance. The columns support a full entablature which extends around the north, west, and south facades and terminates in cornice returns on the east side. The low-pitched pediment has a wide raking molding and a clapboard-faced tympanum. Two brick chimneys rise above the central portion of the house. Under the portico are three six-over-six windows in the upper story and in the lower story a central doorway and two six-over-six windows. The windows all have simple board frames, while the sidelight-trimmed front entrance is set in a broad, moulded frame decorated with corner blocks and a large center block. The entrance appears to be patterned in a general way after the 'frontispiece' design in Plate 26 in Asher Benjamin's Practice of Architecture (Boston, 1833). The deck under the portico is constructed of wood. The central portion of the house is flanked by one-story wings, each with one six-over-six window on its west facade. Each window has black-painted shutters. The corners of the wings have simple cornerboards and there is a plain entablature molding under the eaves. The roof above each wing has a low pitch and is hipped on the west end. In each of the long sides of the wings (north and south) there are two six-over-six windows with black-painted shutters. There are two six-over-six windows in the upper story of the rear (east) facade of the main portion of the house, and in the first story there are three six-over-six windows. The roofs above the east side of the wings form half gables, joining the main portion of the house. The half gables have the same slope as the main roof, rising to a point just under the main cornice.