Sibley House

In 1848 Sarah Sproat Sibley, the widow of Judge Solomon Sibley, built a house for herself and her two daughters on the south side of Jefferson Avenue next to Christ Church. It is a frame version of the Palms and the Chene houses. Along with the Chene and the Trowbridge houses, it is one of the few surviving mid-nineteenth century houses in Detroit. The Sibley family occupied the house for almost eighty years, and except for the Trowbridge House, it is the oldest residence in Detroit used continuously as a home since its construction.

Judge Sibley was described as 'one of the most public spirited, most prominent and able citizens of Michigan and a pillar of Christ Church.' Sibley was one of the representatives to the General Assembly of the North West Territory. In 1815 Sibley was appointed United States district attorney of Michigan, and in 1824 he was appointed a United States judge of the territory. He became a director of the Bank of Michigan and he helped General Lewis Cass obtain all the lands held by the Ottawas and the Pottawatomies south of Grand River Avenue. He was one of a group of enterprising Detroiters who organized the Pontiac Company in 1818 and bought the tract of land that is now the City of Pontiac.

Judge Sibley died April 4, 1846. Miss Sarah Sibley, daughter of Solomon and Sarah Sproat Sibley, was the last member of the family to live in the house. After her death in 1917 the house passed into the hands of relatives and in 1925 was sold to Christ Church. In 1919 it had been opened as a neighborhood house.

During World War I the home was used as a French relief home, and during World War II it was a relief home for the British. In 1946 Rev. William B. Sperry became rector and lived in the house until his retirement in 1966.

Sibley House is the rectory for Christ Church if the rector should so choose, otherwise it is used for overnight guests of the church and for various social functions of the church.

The Sibley House is a two-story frame building of the Classic Revival style. It is two by five bays and has a low gable roof. On the front is a modest entrance porch with Greek Doric columns. At the rear of the house is a two-story porch.

The high spacious interior has a center hall extending through to the back of the house. About midway down the hall is located the stairway which begins toward the rear of the house instead of the front and extends from the first floor to the attic. A large living room occupies the entire right side of the house. To the left of the hall is the dining room, the kitchen and pantry, and in the back of the house is an office.

A door leads from the back of the Sibley House through to the parish offices of Christ Church. In order to facilitate more modern living quarters for the rectors of Christ Church who resided there, a modern kitchen and bathrooms were installed in the house. Originally there had been four large bedrooms upstairs. They were divided into two bedrooms with closets, two bathrooms, and a sitting room in the front section.

In the attic are two rooms on either side of the house with adequate storage space. The house has been maintained to a great extent in its original state with period furniture and appointments throughout.