A tour route was designated, and a script produced to describe sites of historic and architectural importance along the route. Short readable descriptions of buildings, people, and events were provided. Description of architectural features were accompanied by illustration of buildings, with architectural features clearly labeled. Illustrations will be poster sized (11”X17”) to use as a visual aid while giving the tour.
Description of Map: The tour route and sites of interest will be clearly marked on a base map showing the street grid, blocks, railroad, etc. Inset pictures and brief descriptions will be included. Room will also be reserved for a listing of businesses (possibly sponsors), churches, and listing of services (government, banking, etc.). The map will be of a size and quality so that it is easily reproducible and something that can be given to people who participate in guided tours, or who want to go on a self-guided tour by themselves.
- Description of Website: The final component will be a web site providing in-depth descriptions of people, buildings, and events (whereas the script and map are more succinct), and:
- Supplementary materials describing: architectural styles, builders and contractors, building rehabilitation resources.
- A section on “Lost Wyandotte” showing buildings that have been demolished.
- Wyandotte Map, where visitors can click on individual blocks to pull up a series of historical maps showing how the block has changed over time.
- and Wyandotte Library, with a bibliography of local primary documents and secondary documents to assist people who would like to study Wyandotte in more depth.
Costs and Partnerships
Since this is potentially a very time intensive project requiring a high degree of expertise in research and publishing, some form of compensation will help to ensure the project is completed in a timely manner. Funding might come from business sponsors (as described above) or other partners including (but not limited to) the Wyandotte Historical Society, The City of Wyandotte, the Chamber of Commerce, and Cool Cities.
Timeline of Major Events in History of Wyandotte
| 1835 | Major John Biddle built his “gentlemen” farm on 2,200 acres which he called “Wyandotte” in honor of the Wyandot Indians who inhabited the land. |
| 1854 | Biddle sells his land to the Eureka Iron Works under the direction of Eber Ward, who chooses the site because of vast forest to be used to generate power, and water access for shipping of goods. The Iron Works hire John VanAlstyne to sell homes and plot out the town. Wyandotte is given village status. |
| 1860 | Population of Wyandotte: 1,700 |
| 1867 | Wyandotte receives city charter, VanAlstyne first mayor. |
| 1889 | E.H. Doyles Hoop & Stave Co. provides electricity to the town. |
| 1891 | J.B. Ford, upon hearing of the vast salt deposits udner Wyandotte, incorporates the Michigan Alkali Co. in the South end of town and in 1894 another factory in the North end of town. |
| 1900 | Population of Wyandotte: 8,000 |
| 2004 | Wyandotte celebrates its 150-year Sesquicentennial. |
Sesquicentennial Tour of Wyandotte, Michigan
Tour Script
INTRODUCTION
First the Maquaqua village occupied by the Wyandot Indians who settled on the banks of the Detroit River in the 1730s, then the “gentleman” farm of Major John Biddle, finally became a factory town with the arrival of the Eureka Iron Works in 1854. Shipbuilding activities followed. Discovery of salt reserves in 1889 helped to establish the chemical industry in Wyandotte. This entrepreneurial activity has created a city with a fascinating past and eclectic architecture, making Wyandotte an excellent place today to raise a family, and to live, work, and play.
HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE
Participants are encouraged to begin the tour by following the 44-block route through the historic 1854 Wyandotte Village, between Eureka Ave and Ford Ave, from the Detroit River to the railroad tracks. Then they may visit other sites of interest in:
Ford City
Area north of Ford Ave annexed and made part of Wyandotte.
Glenwood and Mt. Carmel
Between Eureka and Ford Ave from the railroad tracks west to Fort St.
South Wyandotte
Between Eureka and Pennsylvania Ave from Detroit River to the railroad tracks.
While some sections are suitable for walking, especially the route through the 1854 Wyandotte Village, driving may be needed to visit more distant sites or for people unable to walk distances greater than one mile.
Finally, before starting the tour try to gauge audience interest in history, architecture, churches, business, industry, etc. and adapt material accordingly. Finally, because this script is comprehensive it will be impossible to read it all. So be selective, enjoy yourself, and make sure participants have an enjoyable time too.
If you are asked a question you don’t know the answer to, refer that person to the Wyandotte Historical Society who can help them to find an answer.
Tour Guide Note: Throughout the text there will be comments like this one that provide navigational direction, such as show ILLUSTRATION, etc.
1854 Wyandotte Village
- Millennium Clocktower at Biddle and Maple
Standing on this spot in the 1730s you would have witnessed the first visitors and establishment of the Mauquaqua village. Major John Biddle passed through this area during the War of 1812 and returned in 1818 to establish his gentleman’s farm. Finally in 1854, Eber Ward and other businessmen from Detroit established the Eureka Iron Works. - White’s Furniture in Knights of Columbus Building
3 story, brick building, flat roof with stepped parapet roof line. 1st floor façade glass in metal mullions, center entrance. 2nd floor metal with enamel panels attached to façade. 3rd floor brick pierced by 5 small windows with brick course just at window tops. Panel with “Council K of C, 1802” at building’s peak. Seeing how the first white settler to Wyandotte did not arrive until around 1818, this plaque is misleading at best, likely referencing the date when the national organization was formed. - Eureka Iron and Steel Company Headquarters, Built 1860, Modernized 1955
Originally constructed in 1860 as the office of the Eureka Iron and Steel Company. The original three story, Second Empire building with mansard roof was far larger than the company needed, so in 1871 a bank opened on this site.
Prior to opening the Eureka works, Eber Ward and businessmen from Detroit systematically purchased 40 square miles of property throughout the Downriver area. Trees were cut and used in the furnaces and property was sold for farms.
As manager of the Eureka Iron and Steel Company, John VanAlstyne was responsible for selling property, was instrumental in opening and operation of the bank, and served as Wyandotte’s first mayor in 1867. Today a nearby street shares his name.
Although the basic structure remains the same, modernization inside and outside was completed in 1955 replacing windows and applying a brick veneer.
Also note that the building to the north, home of Standard Federal bank today, has a mansard roof, just like the Eureka headquarters had at one time.
Today known as the Municipal Services Building, since 1996 Joe Maher has managed the Century 21 Real Estate office here, not unlike the work John Van Alstyne did, selling property over 100 years ago.
The bank vault remains, though when converted for use as a real estate office, safe boxes had to be removed. Still with a vault door that opens and closes, in case you are ever trapped, there is a lever to pull that activates a vent and fan for circulation.
Outside is a plaque recognizing Wyandotte’s important role in steel manufacturing. A state marker by the river also commemorates the event, one of the first erected in the State of Michigan. Recently the Wyandotte Historical Society had it restored. - Owl’s Korner, modeled after a similar building in London, built 1918
Modeled after the Old Curiosity Shop in London. Formerly the Christian Science Reading Room, but became Owl’s Korner gift shop in 1978. Current owner Mary Ann Buhl (born April 16, 1964) will have owned since June 2001 and is the third generation of retailers in Wyandotte with her grandfather owning a Chrysler car dealership, and her father operating a grocery store.
Half timber exterior and stucco over brick. Pie shaped design with entrance originally at southernmost point, but in the 1960s the entrance was removed from the corner to the side, and replaced with a 3 sided, 1 story, hip roof, glass panel niche. Small bay window on 1st floor east façade, large projecting 2nd floor bay overhead with 6/6 sash window, 3 windows in front, 1 on either side. All bays with wood shake shingle roof overhead.
Stair enclosure on west side of building with roof sloping downward towards street. At top of stairs on 2nd floor is a double hung window with a rectangular surround cover in shingles. Owl’s Korner sign with carved Owl hanging over sidewalk along Biddle Ave. - Stroh’s Ice Cream Parlour
Plate glass window running along most of 1st floor serving area, 2nd floor 9/9 double hung window, two pairs on either side of narrow central window (commonly of a smaller size to compensate for larger windows and to bring harmony and balance to facade).
Unique cast iron window hood with a sunburst overhead, stone sill below. Also a corbel brick cornice begins, but apparently the uppermost part of the cornice has been removed. Restoring this would bring architectural unity to the building façade again. - Rivers Edge Gallery and Belicoso Cafe Fine Cigar Bar
First floor metal enclose panel windows, matching black fabric fixed awning overhead. Richardsonian round arch window on 2nd and 3rd floor, with two arches in center, flanked by relieving structural arches, and small arches to either side of these.
“Melody” name plate above central arches, and “1868” date between these. Beneath central and side arches are double hung windows. - Willow Tree and Site of 1st City Hall (1880-1935)
On this site from 1880-1935 stood Wyandotte’s first City Hall, fire station, library, and jail. When the City Hall moved several blocks north in 1936, several drugstores operated here, before the building was converted for use as the Willow Tree store.
Architecturally unique, Art Deco façade with raised panels and inset stone. Corner entrance on Elm St at both intersections with Biddle and 1st. Interior entrance connects clothing store to gallery to the north. - Chelsea Men’s Wear, Biddle 2944, Facade modernized 1972
Chelsea’s main store has been at this location since 1960. The business expanded to 26 Stores including Willow Tree and The Branch locations throughout the Detroit region. The two Wyandotte stores were able to survive tough economic times by providing quality merchandise and superior customer service.
The Biddle Ave façade was commissioned by owner Gilbert Rose in 1972. Several rows of large red and white letters with the word Chelsea repeat across the façade. This might be considered post-modern design where text becomes structure. Behind these is a porcelain front, and a round arched entrance with glass doors below. A year after being completed, in 1973 the façade and new décor of the store was featured on the cover of a prominent retailing magazine. - R.P. McMurphy’s Restaurant and Bar, Biddle 2922, Mehlhose/Schroeder Building, Arts and Crafts, Built 1911
Excellent example of the Arts and Crafts style with colored glass surrounding the Biddle entrance, oriel window on the 2nd floor, and Spanish tile pent roof facing street. Inside the glass harmonizes with wall murals, the dark wood of the bar and rafter overhead, and the tile floors and tile along the walls. Built 1875-1883, 1911.
Three story, brick, with flat roof and parapet on front. Stepped brick work like buttresses on either side of building, in between are red tile shed roof with brackets. Under this is round arched brick work and masonry star medallions set in brick squares, oriel windows supported by brackets on the 2nd story is covered with a red tiled hip roof. Next to this are 2 small windows with diagonal leaded glass (since removed).
Below on the first story, stained glass windows over heavy wooden door on exterior and swinging wooden door between entrance hall and interior. Doors with stained glass and 4 small windows in between doors. Fluted pilasters separate the four windows from the doors. Prismatic glass in transom over entrance, diffracts light and helps to evenly distribute throughout the building.
Wyandotte Historical Society plaque accepted March 26, 1992. - Armstrong Antiques, Armstrong Clothing, Arlington Hotel, Built 1884, Hotel until 1919, Modernized, porch removed
The historic Arlington Hotel (1884-1919) building continues to stand on this corner, though the balcony on Biddle Ave has been removed and the façade has been covered with red galvanized panels.
When operating as a hotel, band concerts entertained citizens on hot summer nights. At the time this was the leading “Class A” hotel in Wyandotte, with Captain John B. Ford and other prominent guests staying here.
In 1920 the building was leased by Frank Armstrong for use as a men’s clothing store. The north elevation facing Oak St remains intact with segmental brick window hoods and stone sills, though all windows have been filled in with bricks. Today the building is occupied by Armstrong Antiques.. - Biddle Ave and Oak Street, earliest business intersection
Biddle and Oak were Wyandotte’s main business arteries from its earliest days. Oak Street connected the river to the east with the railroad terminal several blocks to the west.
Merchants consolidated along Biddle, with many social and cultural activities located here as well. Downtown has served as Wyandotte’s center since the 19th century, but because of its location on the far east side of town, numerous corner stores and several secondary commercial districts are scattered throughout town in closer walking distance to homes. Zoning ordinances and economic change have threatened these stores existence.
The original village plat of 1854 shows streets running horizontal to the river named after trees and fruits, intersected by numbered streets running north and south, locally called the Philadelphia Plan.
Biddle Avenue is the main street of Wyandotte an extension of Jefferson Avenue, running from Detroit to Trenton. Biddle is named after Major John Biddle, Wyandotte’s first white settler whose house once stood where the Ford-MacNichol house is today.
Annexation is the method that Wyandotte used to grow from its original boundary in 1854 to the current area that the city covers today. In many areas that have been annexed, streets and neighborhoods are named after land owners who developed the land. - First Methodist Church, 1st Building 1861, 2nd Building 1899, Current 1960s
Methodists were one of the first religious congregations in the city, organized in 1855. Their first church building was built on this site in 1861. A second church replaced the original in 1899. And the current structure was completed in the 1960s. - Biddle Gallery, 2840 Biddle, Italianate
This two story brick Italianate building has a wooden cornice with brackets and corbels. Formerly Navarre’s Shade and Carpet, the building houses an art gallery today. - Biddle and Chestnut, Site of First Deaths in War of 1812, Marker with 7 concentric circles in sidewalk at SW corner
According the Lossing Benson, Pictorial Field Book of the War of 1812, one story goes that the first deaths of the War of 1812 took place near this intersection in Wyandotte. At one time a stream flowed through here with a bridge crossing on Biddle. In a running battle two people were ambushed at the bridge crossing, shot, and killed.
A marker with seven concentric circles is embedded in the sidewalk at the SW corner of Biddle and Chestnut, likely commemorating this event. - Masonic Temple, Built 1912 & Site of Old Brown School (1855)
A fraternal group, the International Order of Odd Fellows built a one story temple on this site (south side of Chestnut between Biddle and 1st St) in 1912, later it was sold to the Masonic Order in 1944 (another fraternal group founded in 1866). Later Wyandotte’s Masons merged with Trenton and the building was sold.
This was the site of Wyandotte’s first school, named the First Ward School and known as the Old Brown School, built in 1855 almost immediately after the Eureka Iron and Works decided to locate here and the village was founded in 1854.
The Old Brown School also served as the first public building in Wyandotte from 1855 to 1910, used as a school, council meeting chambers, and the meeting room for active organizations of the town including many early Protestant churches. The wooden school building on this site was moved to Ford Ave and 3rd St where it was cut in half and converted for use as two separate houses [Ford Ave 2031 and Ford Ave 2081] that are still visible today in 2004.
The Old Brown School served the students of Wyandotte until 1887 when classes started in the newly constructed public school on the north side of Superior Blvd between 3rd and 4th Sts where the Garfield School is located today.
Wyandotte Historical Society plaque accepted June 1, 1992. - St. Stephens Episcopal Church, 1st Building 1866, Current Sanctuary 1964
The Episcopal Church has occupied this site since completion of their first building here in 1866. This was one of the few wooden Gothic style churches in Wyandotte, that was dismantled after a fire and a new sanctuary built in 1964. - Site of Presbyterian Church, Built 1899, Demolished 1991
The Presbyterians constructed their first church in 1859 at the SW corner of Biddle and Chestnut. They replaced this with a new building in 1899 on the NE corner of Chestnut and 1st, the result of a $10,000 gift from Captain John B. Ford to the congregation. This church was sold to Gospel Temple in 1961 and a new church was dedicated at Oak and 23rd St. The building at the NE corner of Chestnut and 1st was demolished in 1991. - St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church, 1st Building 1857, Current Sanctuary 1873, School 1906
Wyandotte’s first Catholic congregation has continuously occupied this site since 1857. Originally called the parish of St Charles Borommeo, this was a parish church of St. Francis Xavier out of Ecorse.
The original church building was constructed by church parishioners who after they completed their daily work, dug clay from the river and made bricks for the church by hand.
The name was changed to St. Patrick’s in 1885 to recognize the growing number of parishioners of Irish descent who displaced the native French to the area.
Work on the present church began in 1871 making it the oldest 19th century church remaining in Wyandotte. The first building was removed in 1873 to set the brick foundation for the current structure.
Architectural features include brick quoins at the corner, gable roof with cross gable, belt course under the 1st and 3rd story windows, and round arched doorways. Crosses are at the peak of gable parapets and the roof has slate shingles.
The original building was remodeled at the same time that the new school was built in 1906. The central transept tower was removed then put on front of the building. The new school building had the first auditorium in Wyandotte.
Wyandotte Historical Society plaque accepted April 29, 1992. - Congregational Church, English Gothic, Built 1902
Wyandotte’s finest example of English Gothic church architecture, this is an interpretation of Shakespeare’s church in Stratford-on-Avon, but not a replica as local legend goes. It is important to recognize that Wyandotte’s church is not an exact copy.
The building and furnishings were a gift of businessman and philanthropist Jerome Bishop in 1902. His house was located one block to the east on the NE corner of Biddle and Superior.
Original Tiffany windows surround the sanctuary. The congregation nearly had these removed in the 1990’s but showed great wisdom keeping them in place.
Wyandotte Historical Society plaque Jan. 8, 1992, installed March 26, 1992. - Site of Superior 84 and 76, demolished for parking
Two houses demolished and replaced by parking lot. - Military Order of the Purple Heart Monument, June 6, 1943, Restored and Rededicated November 6, 1999
This monument was erected to recognize a state convention of the Order of the Purple Heart held in Wyandotte in June 1943. Michigan Governor Harry Kelly presided over the dedication on June 6, 1943. Kelly lost his leg in WWI and was a member of the Order.
Reported to be the first monument the Order had in the United States, the sculptor was I. DeBiasis from River Rouge. The monument was restored and placed on a new pedestal by the Wyandotte Historical Society, and rededicated on November 6, 1999. - Boulder Monument, Dedicated Memorial Day 1923
This monument was dedicated on Memorial Day 1923 in memory of soldiers lost in World War I. The American Legion sponsored its construction. - Site of Joe Kirby House, shipyard supervisor, demolished
Home of Joe “Fitz” Kirby was brother of Frank Kirby whom Eber Ward hired to lead the Wyandotte Iron Ship Building Works in 1870. His brother Joe supervised the works and was a notable inventor himself, holding several patents including an industrial machine used to bend metal.
Joe “Fitz” Kirby managed the Detroit Dry Dock company’s Wyandotte yard until 1899, and also served as mayor.
His house was demolished and replaced by the current commercial block occupied by Superior Ford Auto Dealership, later occupied by Firestone automobile service store before closing in 2003. - Bishop/Brighton House, Biddle 2709, Tudor Revival, Built 1902, Formerly had gas pump and fuel tank in front, removed
Tudor Revival, simulated split beams, steeply pitched roof, gable dormer facing street. Built in 1902.
Wyandotte Historical Society plaque accepted November 19, 1993. - Site of Bishop House and 2nd City Hall, now Bishop Co-Op, Built 1888, City Hall 1936-1967, Demolished 1960s
The house of business leader and philanthropist Jerome H. Bishop stood on this site, built in 1888 and demolished in the 1960s to make way for the Bishop Co-op apartments.
Bishop’s fur products factory was located one block to the east at Superior and Van Alstyne – though at the time Van Alstyne was called Front St. Reportedly steam heating from the factory served his house as well.
Bishop played an active role in civic affairs serving as Superintendent of Schools and mayor, and contributed funds for several churches to be built. He sold land where his factory stood to the city for a discounted price and convinced his neighbor, the Hurst’s, to sell land that they held as well, allowing for creation of Bishop Park.
From 1936-1967 the Bishop House served as Wyandotte’s second City Hall, before the city moved to a third building downtown. Later Bishop’s house was demolished and the current tower was built in its place. - Site of Hurst House, Demolished
James T. Hurst was a lumber baron who had a mill called Lacey and Hurst where Eureka Ave meets the river. Originally built for Dr. S.B. Wright, one of the first medical doctors that came to Wyandotte, the house was later sold to the Hurst family. The original house as Italianate and made of wood. When the Hurst’s bought it they added a tower, Queen Anne details, and exotic woods inside.
Later the home was demolished and a parking lot is on the site today. The only evidence that remains of this home is iron fencing running beside the Bacon library. The original fence separates the two properties and was restored by the Wyandotte Historical Society around 1994. A slate slab from the house may also remain on the site.
The reason the site has not been redeveloped is that the Hurst descendants placed a revisional covenant in their will before they died – requiring that the site may be developed only for educational purposes. An ideal location for a library, museum, or other educational facility – Wyandotte is still waiting for the right project to come along. - Marx-Polley House, Colonial Revival, 1905/1921
2 1/2 story, wood clapboarding, hip roof, gable dormer, overhanging eaves with brackets, in peak of dormer small round window also 3 windows in dormer with leaded glass. Full front porch with square piers and brackets on either side of piers, 1/2 circle window next to door.
Flat roof on front porch with sun deck and wooden railing around it. South side enclosed porch also has sundeck in top. Brick construction on porch, brick foundation, car port. Flat roof with square piers on north side. Oriel window on north side supported by brackets with dropped pendants and leaded glass in transom.
Wyandotte Historical Society plaque accepted July 20, 1992. - Marx House, Biddle 2630, Wyandotte Museums offices, Italianate townhouse, Built 1872, Retored 1976
A wonderful example of an Italianate, 2-story, residential brick townhouse. Characterized by the low pitch hipped roof, bracketed eaves, windows with round arch at top and brick segmental window hood, and widow’s walk along the roof.
From the time the building was constructed it was occupied by people of progressively greater influence to the Wyandotte story, until purchased in 1921 by John Marx, the son of George Marx, founder of Wyandotte’s famous Marx Brewing Company in 1862.
Built in 1862 for Warren Isham, the home was purchased by John Robinson (an early Wyandotte masonry contractor) in 1864. Wyandotte’s first druggist, Charles W. Thomas, purchased the home in 1874, and in 1881 the home was sold to Anna Armstrong, whose husband, William, was the city Treasurer in 1875.
Leo Marx and Mary T. Polley, son and daughter of John Marx gave the building as a gift to the City of Wyandotte in 1974. After extensive research and restoration, the home was formally opened to the public on September 29, 1996, and in 2001 the Wyandotte Historical Society moved their archive and administrative offices there to the 2nd floor.
Listed on the State Register of Historic Sites January 16, 1976
National Register of Historic Places August 13, 1976.
Wyandotte Historical Society plaque accepted June 7, 1991. - George P. and Laura Ford/MacNichols House, Queen Anne, Malcomson and Higginbotham, Built 1896
The George P. and Laura Ford MacNichol house is an excellent example of a late Queen Anne style residence (when built the style of this house was called French Renaissance Revival), associated with industrial leaders. The house is also significant as a residential work of the prominent Detroit firm Malcomson and Higginbotham, also responsible for construction of Old Main on the campus of Wayne State University in downtown Detroit, and the Ford-Bacon House across the street, used by the Public Library today.
Wyandotte’s first white settler, John Biddle, originally had his house on this corner as well. Built in 1836, Eureka Iron purchased it in 1853 and used it as worker housing. Ownership changed several times, there were one or two fires, before the last owner moved the building north, now the 2nd house from the SW corner of Spruce and Biddle.
The current house was built in 1896 for George and Laura Ford MacNichol, Laura was the sister of Mary Bacon, daughter of Edward Ford, and granddaughter of Captain J.B. Ford (1811-1903). J.B. Ford founded the Pittsburg Glass Company and the Michigan Alkali Company. His son Edward was co-founder of the Michigan Alkali Company and founded the Ford Plate Glass Company in Toledo, which later became the Libby-Owens-Ford Company. Shortly after the house was completed the Ford’s moved to Ohio.
George Pope MacNichol (1870-1930) was a medical doctor by training and believed to be a financial officer with the Michigan Alkali. The size and splendor of the house are an expression of the power and influence of the MacNichol family.
Later it became known as the Jeremiah Drennan residence. Drennan was a postmaster of Wyandotte. The Drennan daughters remained in the home until the 1960s. When the house was purchased by Yvonne Latta, who sold it to the city for the purpose of preserving it as a museum in 1977.
A fine example of the Queen Anne style, the house presents a picturesque appearance with its asymmetrical massing, corner tower, intersecting rooflines and varied textures.
Projecting bays and a corner turret is capped with a steeply pitched hipped-roof with intersecting gables. The wide eaves are supported with projecting rafters, the large gable ends and the third floor of the turret are sheathed in wood shingles, while the remainder of the house is sheathed with clapboards.
Each gable-end contains a Palladian window. A one-story porch starts in the middle of the north elevation, curves around the corner turret to the east elevation and terminates in a circular plan at the southeast corner of the building. The porch roof is supported by pairs of Tuscan columns on tall clapboard bases. Each column set is separated with geometric latticework between the cornice line and a spindle balustrade.
The Wyandotte Historical Society was organized in 1958 for the purpose of preserving Wyandotte’s history and built heritage. A museum was first established in 1967 at 301 Maple Street. Later the MacNichol house was acquired and administrative offices were located here. In 2001 these offices moved to the Marx house, also owned and operated by the City of Wyandotte. Both the Marx House and MacNichol’s house remain open for public tours today. The MacNichol house serves as a house museum today and a favorite place for weddings and other celebrations.
Listed on the State Register of Historic Sites on November 15, 1973.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 24, 1984.
Wyandotte Historical Society plaque accepted June 7, 1991. - Ford-Bacon House and Bacon Memorial Library, Queen Anne, Malcomson and Higginbotham, Built 1897, 42nd US President William Clinton speech here in 1996
The Edward Ford – Mary Bacon House has architectural significance as a large, Queen-Anne brick design of Detroit architectural firm Malcomson and Higginbotham. It has historical significance as the residence of two Wyandotte business and civic leaders.
Edward Ford, president of the Michigan Alkali Company (later to become the Wyandotte Chemical Company and even later BASF) constructed this house for his wife Carrie in 1897. Ford, the son of chemical magnate Captain John B. Ford, lived here for only a few years before moving to Toledo in 1900 to follow the glass industry concentrating there.
In 1902, Mark and Mary Ford Bacon, Edward’s daughter, occupied the house. Mr. Bacon was elected to Congress in November 1916. When the US declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917, Congressman Bacon was one of the few who voted against the war. At a special election on November 6, 1917, Bacon was recalled. Following the death of her husband in 1942, Mary Ford Bacon bequeathed the house to the Wyandotte Board of Education for educational use. Today it is the Bacon Memorial Library.
U.S. President William Jefferson Clinton visited Wyandotte on August 27, 1996 for a stop during his re-election campaign where he gave a nationally televised speech on literacy education from the porch of the Ford-Bacon House facing towards Biddle Ave. His train stopped at the same historic Oak Street depot used by U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt when he visited town in 1902.
Important architectural features include hip-roof, cross-gables, and light brown and red painted sandstone trim. It has projecting tapered gables, a 2 story side bay, square brick chimneys, gabled dormers, and a rear three-story round arched bell tower.
Details include a hipped roof open porch, scrolled brackets and dentils under the roofline, a leaded glass transom, and scrolled iron gates in basement windows.
Listed on State Register of Historic Sites, 2/19/1987.
Listed on National Register of Historic Places, 12/1/1997.
Wyandotte Historical Society plaque accepted June 7, 1991. - Griffith House, Vinewood 96, Built 1907
Built for John Griffith in 1907 who was the general superintendent for the Michigan Alkali Company before it became Wyandotte Chemical and later BASF.
Wyandotte Historical Society plaque offered but not yet accepted. - John Eberts House, Built 1872
Constructed in 1872, the Eberts family represented several business interests locally, chiefly in coal and cement products. - Halstead-Crum House, Vinewood 156
Hipped roof Colonial Revival with hip roofed dormer. Portico over front entrance with slender columns.
A plaque from the Wyandotte Historical Society was accepted on September 1, 1992, but subsequently removed because vinyl siding was added, negating the buildings historic and architectural integrity.
Still the house is unique as an example of two houses being joined into one. The houses are joined by a 2 story hyphen that extends through the roof of the south side and ends in a wall dormer. Gable end on south side has Palladian window and hood with keystone.
North section has hip roof with front gable dormer, hip roof verandah with square columns and square spindles forming balustrade. - Gartner Home, Vinewood 234
The Gartner family owned and operated a hardware store. The family home continued to be occupied by one son who lived on the first floor, and a sister who had an apartment upstairs. Their brother was elected a State Representative, but lived elsewhere.
This house is so architecturally ornamented and unique that it is literally an encyclopedia of the Queen Anne style. The Gartner family’s association with builders and the hardware business is clearly reflected in their house that in many ways served as the best advertisement for their company and the products they sold. This is common with merchants, and especially building supply merchants throughout the country.
The house has a T-shaped plan with a gable roof with hip on the south front and a side gable roof facing east. Front gable has pent roof enclosing gable that is recessed and has a recessed window at center. Shingles vary between semi-circular pattern above and below window to diamond beside window. Brackets support pent roof and separate pediment from the main mass of the house.
Other distinguishing features include a wrap around verandah on the south and east sides. With Corinthian columns grouped in pairs of 3 on either side of the south entrance. A pediment is in the overhanging roof here as well.
An oriel window is cantilevered on the front façade, 2nd floor, over the entrance and slightly to the east. While on this same front façade, the west half of the 2nd floor is balanced by paired double hung windows. Below these on the first floor is a large bay window with transom light above. And separating the first and second floor, except where the roof overhanging the porch, is a classically designed cornice with dentils, fascia, and crown.
The lot adjacent to the house to the east is vacant and apparently has been vacant at least since the time the house was built, providing a view of the ornamental east side from the street of this house located in the center of a city block, for a house that more commonly would be on a corner lot to be visible from two sides.
This building was featured on the first Wyandotte Historic House Tour in 1995.
Wyandotte Historical Society plaque visible [1893], registered? - Walnut 313, Bungalow, Built 1917
Hip roof and hip roof dormer with 6/1 windows. Roof extends over porch in front, brick base rise above ground level. Porch with wood posts tapered towards top. Between porch and roof are two rows of fascia board, with two rows of clapboard siding between them. Clapboard is painted tan with detail around windows and doors dark brown.
Also note the house to the west with sunburst in porch rail, and unpainted shingles in the gable over the porch.
Wyandotte Historical Society plaque accepted March 22, 1996. - Matthews House, Walnut 254, Foursquare, Built 1910
Hipped roof with front gable dormer, half gable roof over porch with fishscale shingle in pediment. Oriel window on west side of porch with double hung windows on either side of large central pane of transom with hexagonal cut glass. Classical frame around most doors and windows. Brick chimney with corbelled chimney cap.
Built by W.S. Matthews, a chemist with Michigan Alkali Works No. 1 on south end of town, charter member of the Knights of Columbus, Trenton Chief of Police 1960-1968, member of St. Joseph Church, died May 23, 1978 and buried at Our Lady of Hope Cemetery in Brownstown, Twp.
Wyandotte Historical Society plaque accepted November 11, 1992. - Boat House and Ice Skating, boat slips installed 1950s
When the river froze, the area along the Detroit River behind the Old Hospital was used for ice skating. Once used for speed skating, several champions skated here when they were younger. This area was changed over to boat slips in the 1950s, and today people of Wyandotte use the downtown Yack Arena for skating. - Henry Ford Health Center and Old Hospital, Built 1926
Built in 1926 with support from Michigan Alkali (later to become BASF). Building has medallion of an Indian head. - Biddle 2350, eligible for Historical Society marker
Wyandotte Historical Society plaque offered but not yet accepted. - Site of 2nd Michigan Alkali Company Clubhouse, Built 1922, Demolished
When the City of Wyandotte purchased their first clubhouse along the Detroit River in the area to become Bishop Park, the Michigan Alkali Company built a second clubhouse on the NE corner of Biddle and Mulberry.
Built in 1922, the 2nd clubhouse was used for recreational purposes. Both clubhouses were the first structures in the city to be used for recreation. This indicated by the start of the 20th century ordinary workers began to have the opportunity for leisure time and to recreate. This trend continued throughout the 20th century and resulted in creation of several wonderful parks in Wyandotte.
Regrettably the 2nd Michigan Alkali Company Clubhouse (later named the Wyandotte Chemical Company clubhouse) was demolished and athletic fields behind the clubhouse replaced to make way for a hospital parking lot. - William Armstrong House, Biddle 2234, Queen Anne, Built 1898, Edward J. Harding
Residence of a prominent Wyandotte pioneer and businessmen, this house has architectural significance as the work of active Wyandotte architect Edward J. Harding who designed many residential buildings at the turn of the 20th century.
This 1898 Queen Anne is asymmetrical in plan covered with clapboard and shingles, later replaced by asbestos siding. A veranda across the front is supported by Tuscan columns on paneled pedestals. Dentils and modillion bands decorate the porch and main cornice.
An unusual feature is the house’s paneled treatment with an oval fanlight in the center of the wall between the 2nd story front windows and beneath the gable. - Babcock-Smith House, Biddle 2122, Queen Anne, Built 1893, Moved Present Location 1990
Moved five blocks to the present location, this Queen Anne home was built in 1893 for a local banker Mr. Babcock. Upon his death in 1912 the house was sold to Robert William Smith who had a family of 6.
Smith worked for Michigan Alkali along with George Palmer and local legend goes that they designed the first self unloading ship to sail on the Great Lakes, called the “Wyandotte.” While they led the construction, the first self unloader was perfected by Babcock and Penton, who were friends and peers of Frank Kirby, the principal designer for the Wyandotte Iron Shipbuilding Company.
One daughter, Miss Elizabeth Smith lived in the house until 1989. On June 15, 1990 the house was moved to its present location.
The owners Bob and Lenette Ruzzin have worked to lovingly restore the home, according to the standards set by the National Park Service, so that it is eligible to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places when done.
Architectural features include projecting side gable with modillion course and dentils, clapboard siding, front portico with Doric columns. Round arched windows on first and 2nd floor. Gabled dormer with three round arched windows and shingles overhead.
This building was featured on the first Wyandotte Historic House Tour in 1995.
Wyandotte Historical Society plaque, 1893, not in register book. - Biddle House, Biddle 2116, Moved to Present Location
Moved to this location from the site where the Ford-MacNichols house stands today. Front gable and extended eaves with brackets similar to house adjacent to the south. Porch across the front with spindles, square columns, and brackets and dentils between eaves and walls.
Decorative lantern on front tower. Bay window rises from NE corner through roof line. Bay on south side rises through roof with gable dormer overhead. Covered porch on side with spindles, brackets, and dentils. - Cedar 214, Arts and Crafts, Built 1923
Front gable extends over entrance and west 1/3 of front porch. Steep pitched gable rises from the 1st floor through the roof line, with extended eaves, and brackets across the front. Entrance gable is supported by square columns that taper towards the top, and lintel between posts and attached to wall. These tapered colums are repeated on several houses on this side of the block. Chimney on east side recessed into wall and extends through roof.
Wyandotte Historical Society plaque accepted February 19, 1996 but none visible on house. - Mulberry 215, Bungalow, Built 1927
Front dormer with double hung sash windows, 3 over 1, repeat pattern from larger windows on main mass below, stone sill and unique wood frame storm windows with latches on window sash that hold into place.
East half of front façade has stair and concrete stoop with brick foundation. Geometric metal railing likely added later. English bond brick veneer with soldiered stringcourse between 1st floor and raised basement.
Flower box on west side of front façade under windows support by carved stone brackets attached to the wall. Chimney breaks through eave on west side near front. Street parking, no garage.
Wyandotte Historical Society plaque accepted February 19, 1996. - Walnut 420, Built 1920
Hipped roof and front gable dormer both with flared overhanging eaves. Double hung sash windows with 3 lights over one, fixed shutters, and unique wood frame storm windows with latches on window sash that hold into place. Roof extending over porch supported by three square columns that taper towards the top. Front door with three vertical rectangular lights and three square lights overhead.
Wyandotte Historical Society plaque accepted November 9, 2000. - St. John United Church of Christ, Fourth 2744, Built 1929
St. John’s Evangelical Church was built in 1871 by J.F.W. Thon, Wayne County Treasurer, who during the Panic of 1873 committed suicide when county funds were unable to be collected. At this time treasurers were personally responsible for paying the government back if public funds they managed were lost.
This church has an interesting history over 100 years changing from a rigid confessional Lutheran church, that by challenging doctrines, the church changed to an entirely new denomination.
When some members of St. John’s Evangelical wanted to become Masons, those who disagreed broke off and formed Trinity Lutheran, because they felt membership in a secret society was against church doctrine.
St. John’s remained Lutheran for some time, before they started challenging and discarding other doctrines as well. At first it was allowing membership in secret societies, then it became evangelical – denying the real presence of Christ in communion. Finally, seeing the Lutheran denomination as being to liturgical, they broke away and became a member of the United Church of Christ – going so far as to believe in a Unitarian instead of a Trinitarian God.
Doctrinal and evangelical changes were accompanied by architectural changes as well. In 1929 the church was remodeled, bumping the tower out to make room for a stair going into the gallery.
Wyandotte Historical Society plaque accepted December 17, 1993. - Peter Lacy House, Chestnut 268, Queen Anne, Built 1898
Wyandotte Historical Society plaque accepted May 16, 1992. - Marx Home, Oak 266, Queen Anne
Victorian home across from credit union. - Louis Carl Melhose House, Oak 355, Greek Revival/Queen Anne, Built 1890s
Architecturally significant as a Greek Revival house, updated with Late Victorian elements in the 1890s. Historically significance because of association with a family of Wyandotte businessmen.
John F.W. Thon built this home for Louis Carl Mehlhose, an iron puddler with the Eureka Iron Company. The Mehlhose family occupied the home until 1915. Later it was used as a rental property. The most notable tenant was Dr. Fred Frostic, Wyandotte Superintendent of Schools. Frostic’s daughter Gwen was a well known 20th century Michigan conservationist, educator, and artist who grew up here.
Architecturally, the Louis Carl Mehlhose house is an end-gable, two-story, late Greek Revival house. An entrance portico and side portico provide shelter over entrances. Bracketed window hoods are over the front portico and on the front façade.
Victorian scrollwork vergeboard is on the gable of the front portico and the supports of the side portico. Other Victorian features include large turned balusters, spindle decoration under the portico roof, spindle and scroll decorate at its pinnacle. Fish-scale shingles are under the main gable and porch gable, and on the front window hood.
In the 1990s owners rehabilitated the exterior. Work on the interior included stripping paint from the woodwork and radiators, repairing ceilings in several rooms, and refinishing the floors.
Wyandotte Historical Society plaque accepted November 5, 1992
Listed on the State Register of Historic Sites March 17, 1994, marker on May 8, 1997. - Gustave C. Melhose House, Oak 367, Queen Anne/Colonial Revival, Built 1904
A Queen Anne house with Colonial Revival details, built in 1904 by Robert Mellin. This cross-gabled, hipped-roof building has Colonial Revival elements on the exterior including a shallow hipped roof, open Tuscan columned porch flanked by projecting triple bay windows with beveled glass.
Gustave Mehlhose who built the house, and his family, operated a famous ice cream and dairy business, which in 1986 was named a centennial business by the Michigan Historical Society.
Emerson Mehlhose built glider plans in the basement of this house and held several long distance records in the gliding sport.
Paired lights punctuate the second story while a square rectangular light appears above the hipped roof porch. The front gable has a fanlight pediment with a keystone on top. The cedar shingle roof was common to many homes built in the early 20th century.
Listed on the State Register of Historic Sites 3/21/1991, marker erected 10/30/1997.
Wyandotte Historical Society plaque accepted June 7, 1991. - Trinity Lutheran School
Across the street from Trinity Lutheran Church. Closed in 2003. - Trinity Lutheran Church, Modern, 1st building 1861, Parishioner Jack Yops designed 2nd church in 1961
Trinity Lutheran was formed when a group from the St. John’s Evangelical Church broke off because some members of the church wanted to be Masons and participate in secret societies despite this being against church doctrine.
A 1961 building replaced a much older church constructed on this site in 1961, designed by locally prominent architects Yops and Wilke. Jack Yops was a member and vestryman of Trinity Lutheran, and build 5 or 6 other Lutheran churches downriver. Yops used dark brick, and had a love for natural brick and tiles. This church is unique in the sense it was designed and built by one of the members of the parish.
Architecturally unique, there is a sawtooth canopy and asymmetrical tower in the NE corner with a stylized metal grate on the west side. Façade of sanctuary east of tower has two rectangular side masses and a central mass than angles upwards through the roof line and forward towards the street. Entrance doors with angle glass windows fit the canopy. - Melhose Ice Cream, Art Deco facade with multicolored brick
One story, commercial cinder block with brick front. Bricks three color glazed (red, yellow, and green). Art Deco linear and rectangular patterns on brick front. Low gable roof stepped parapet roof line on front. - Filling Station, excellent example of early corner station
An excellent example of an early street corner filling station with a one room building for an attendant. A small filling pump remains on the site of the building, which provided kerosene that was used in lamps in houses before they were wired for electricity.
Doors have a chevron pattern. Façade angled so visible from all four approaching streets. - St. Josephs Roman Catholic Church and School, Built 1950s, Site of Arbeiter Hall, Built 1890, Demolished
Germans have played a prominent role in Wyandotte from the town’s earliest days. Arbeiter Hall stood on the north side of Elm where the parish hall is today. The Arbeiter Society disbanded in 1938 and the hall was sold to the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and subsequently purchased by St. Joseph Church is 1955.
The church was located on the south side of the street where the parking lot and rectory is today. Arbeiter Hall was torn down in the 1960s so the new church could be constructed, and the old church was torn down to make space for parking.
St. Joseph’s Church is a canonical church established in 1870 for German-speaking people. Services were conducted in the German language until 1917. Today the church remains a canonical parish to which people of German ancestry in the downriver area continue to affiliate. - Maas House, Elm 255, Bungalow, Built 1913
Wyandotte Historical Society plaque accepted October 1, 1992. - Wyandotte Theater, Built 1938, First Two-Screen Theater in the United States, Largest stage and auditorium south of Detroit
The Wyandotte Theater opened in 1938 and is believed to be the first two-screen theater in the country. Several notable performers including Lucille Ball and Tom Mix performed here.
In the late 1990s conversion into a performing arts center was partially completed. Nearly $500,000 of structural steel was installed ensuring that the building is structurally sound. Despite substantial demolition of the interior, enough of the architectural fabric remains that when added with historic photographs makes it possible to reconstruct or adaptively reuse the theater.
With the largest stage south of Detroit, completing renovation of the theater would cost almost as much as purchasing the building and tearing it down. When completed though the theater could attract a regional audience to Wyandotte and bring vitality to the downtown district so sought after by merchants. - Jules Nelson Stained Glass and Decor, Biddle 3122
- Site of Marx Opera House, Opened 1896, Fire 1908
Opened October 8, 1896 on the west side of Biddle Avenue between Maple and Sycamore. Had seating capacity for 1000, electric lights, and steam heat. Destroyed by a fire in June of 1908, but rebuilt in 1910 at Biddle and Sycamore.
Social gatherings were held in the Opera House because the first floor was level and could be used for dancing. - Energie Fitness and Smoothie Bar, opened 2004
During the late 1880s and early 1890s, a time when the entire country and the Eureka Iron Works were experiencing economic distress, the company searched for natural gas by drilling wells around Wyandotte. Digging was done on the southeast corner of the factory property at Eureka and Biddle.
Instead of finding gas, however, salt was discovered. A story that has since grown to the status of a local legend. This pivotal discovery of salt in 1889 made possible establishment of chemical industries, replacing steel production that was being threatened by larger steel manufacturers to the east. Pittsburg industrialist Captain John B. Ford took an active industry in the discovery of salt and founded the Michigan Alkali Company and J.B. Ford Company, to use salt in industrial operations. - VanAlstyne 3219
Wyandotte Historical Society plaque offered but not yet accepted. - J.S. VanAlstyne House, VanAlstyne 3133, Built 1870, Greek Revival, Moved to Present Site in 1902
1870, Greek Revival. Moved in 1902 to present site probably from Biddle 2732, site of present Fred VanAlstyne House.
Addition on east facing river done by Dave Zanley and Paula Anderson with the Yops architectural firm.
Wyandotte Historical Society plaque accepted August 18, 1992. - VanAlstyne 3025
Brick house, used by the Coast Guard in the 1940s. A lighthouse was located across the river on the northernmost tip of Grosse Ile. While the lighthouse no longer remains, there are likely archeological remains on the site. - Orr House, VanAlstyne 3005, Colonial Revival
A very elegant architect designed house with steeply pitched roof with slate tiles, five bays across the street façade imitating the Colonial Revival of the Federal style. Second floor windows have shutters.
On the first floor, the portico has a gentle round arch and is supported by Adamesque columns in a group. The entrance door has side lights and transom overhead. On either side of the portico are double hung, eight over eight windows, with a round fanlight, capped by a brick sill with stone keystone.
Orr was president of the Wyandotte Savings Bank.
Wyandotte Historical Society plaque accepted October 13, 1994. - Site of Marx Brewery, 1863-1936
The block facing the Detroit River between Oak and Elm and that is a parking lot today, was formerly occupied by the Marx Brewery (1862-1936) a prominent local industry.
Front Street (later named Van Alstyne Blvd in 1904) separated the brewery to the east with the Gray Flouring Mill (1893-1922), the Wyandotte Herald newspaper (published from 1880-1943) and numerous other commercial and residential buildings to the west. - 1st Michigan Alkali Clubhouse, Built 1900
Constructed in 1900 by the Michigan Alkali company as Wyandotte’s first athletic clubhouse, the City of Wyandotte purchased the property in 1922 when the new clubhouse was constructed at the corner of Mulberry and Biddle. The 2nd clubhouse was later demolished, though the 1st clubhouse still remains.
The American Legion occupies the 1st clubhouse today. The clubhouse was named after Edward C. Hedmund, the first Wyandotte person to die in World War I, and also son of city Treasurer James Hedmund.
The area north of the original clubhouse was purchased in 1901 for use as an athletic field to use in connection with the club building. The American Legion later occupied the clubhouse and continues to occupy it, and the athletic field has been converted to Bishop Park for public use today. - Bishop Park, 1922 and later additions
The American Legion clubhouse in the middle of Bishop Park separates the area to the north where J.H. Bishop had a fur products factory, and the block to the south that once had several mixed-use buildings.
In the area to the north were located some of Wyandotte’s first houses, including Bolton House built in 1855, Wyandotte’s first hospital, and the Wyandotte Sanitarium built in 1899.
The dock at the foot of Oak St was the municipal dock used by boats furnishing daily scheduled trips on the Detroit River. A passenger vessel, the “Wyandotte” was a favorite way to travel to and from Detroit.
The tour could conceivably end here, by showing off Wyandotte’s beautiful river-front parks, one of many features that makes Wyandotte a wonderful place to raise a family, and to live, work, and play today, but by stopping here we would leave the most important part of Wyandotte’s story incomplete. - Site of J.H. Bishop Company, fur products, 1875-1920s
Jerome H. Bishop built a fur products factory in 1875 that exported its products throughout the world. The first available Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from 1890 has the title “Bishop Fur Rug Factory” and shows buildings on the SE corner of Superior and Front St. A later Sanborn map from 1912 shows these facilities greatly expanded, with the name “The JH Bishop Co, Mfgrs of Fur and Fur Lined Coats, Caps and Robes.”
Bishop’s house was conveniently located 1 block to the west on the NE corner of Biddle and Superior. After his death, his house served as the 2nd City Hall from 1936-1967 before being demolished to make way for an apartment tower on the site.
In 1922 the City of Wyandotte acquired the land that Bishop’s factory was located on and created Bishop Park. - Power Plant and Municipal Services
Immediately north of Bishop Park, and visible from sites throughout the city, is the Wyandotte Electric and Water Plants, and Cable Company. While no longer a factory town, these locally owned and operated utilities connect Wyandotte to a proud heritage of entrepreneurship and innovation in business and industry. By owning utilities this helps to ensure Wyandotte’s stability and success well into the future.
Ford City
A. Oakwood Cemetery, established 1854
When Wyandotte was founded in 1854 this area north of the city border was designated as a burying ground. Legal and formal plotting of Wyandotte’s first cemetery did not occur until the land was formally gifted by the Clark family in 1869. Many prominent figures are buried here. Several tombstones have inscriptions in German, reflecting the heritage of some of Wyandotte’s earliest settlers.
South of the cemetery where the police station stands today, is the site of the Wyandotte City Cemetery, also referred to as the “South City Cemetery”. Eureka Iron Works owned this land, but designated to use it for public burials. When the land was later sold, families were forced to move remains elsewhere. One gravestone remained, but this has since been removed.
There is a very good chance that human remains are still on the site.
B. McCormack Home, Second 1905, Queen Anne, Built 1902
Late Queen Anne. Built 1902.
This home was built by John McCormack, a carpenter, and his wife, Elpha, and is now owned by Jerry and Kathi Dwornick. A coffin window is in front of the traditional parlor.
The kitchen shares a butler’s pantry with the dining room. This 1,900 square foot home contains three bedrooms, three bathrooms, and five rooms in the basement where at on time Mrs. McCormack served lunches to the men who worked for J.B. Ford.
This building was featured on the first Wyandotte Historic House Tour in 1995.
Wyandotte Historical Society plaque accepted November 11, 2000.
C. Second 1842, Queen Anne, Built 1898
Late Queen Anne. Built 1898.
Clapboard 1st floor, on 2nd floor clipped shingle. Porch rails with sunburst in pediment above. Bargeboard in front gable. Handsomely landscaped yard with natural stone.
Wyandotte Historical Society plaque accepted September 7, 2000.
D. Gardner House, Second 1836, Craftsman/Italianate, Built 1901, Fine example of a historically sensitive rehabilitation
Italianate, cross gable, with covered entrance porch. 1901.
An excellent example of the Craftsman form with Italianate features. The outside has simple lines with screened porch on two sides. The interior has original woodwork, hard wood floors, and a remodeled kitchen. In 1995, only two owners had lived in this home.
Changes that the second owners made include removing the aluminum siding on the outside, revealing clapboard siding and dentil cornice. Painting of the house is most attractive with gold base and green and maroon accents.
This building was featured on the first Wyandotte Historic House Tour in 1995.
Wyandotte Historical Society plaque accepted March 2, 1993.
E. Second 1816, Craftsman/Italianate
Portion of insulbrick as been removed to reveal clapboard on 1st floor and clipped shingle siding on second. Front gable with shed dormer on south side. Cement block foundation and cement steps with metal pipe rail obviously added later.
F. Biddle 1700 & Site of Marx Hotel, stone building in 2003
Known later as Mitteman, Sullivan.
G. Michigan Alkali Company Administration Building
The core building is an excellent example of early twentieth century corporate architecture designed by a Detroit architectural firm in 1907. It is associated with one of the primary industrialists in the development of the glass industry, one of the leading industrial entities of southeastern Michigan, and intimately associated with the history and development of Wyandotte.
A two story, brick Georgian Revival structure, the original building presents a studiously symmetrical seven-bay façade whose character is defined by a central pedimented pavilion, which shields recessed double entry doors flanked by narrow masonry pilasters supporting a segmental-arch broken pediment.
This feature is surmounted by multi-pane window with a classical entablature hoodmold. The pavilions perimeter is defined by rusticated brick pilasters that flank classical masonry columns in front and on either side of the entry doors. A cornice, supported by consoles extends from the pavilion to the flanking bays of the building and occurs beneath a parapet displaying recessed brick panels.
On October 17, 1890, Captain John Baptiste Ford (1811-1903) purchased this property along the Detroit River. He established the Michigan Alkali Company here in 1891. A flagpole still visible at an entrance north of the Administration Building, has the dates 1891-1941, erected at the company’s 50th anniversary.
Ford had financial interests in several glass companies and he chose the site for its proximity to resources needed to produce soda ash, a primary ingredient in the manufacture of glass. Water was used from the Detroit River to extract salt from deep strata below the site. Salt was mixed with limestone to produce a variety of sodium-based industrial and consumer products. The limestone was shipped from company-owned quarries near Alpena.
In the early years Michigan Alkali’s products included soda ash, baking soda, and lye. Since incorporating in 1891, the company played an integral role in Wyandotte’s development. They contributed funds for the first Wyandotte General Hospital, erected in 1926. In 1943, Michigan Alkali consolidated with the J.B. Ford Company glassworks to become the Wyandotte Chemicals Corporation.
In 1979 it became part of the BASF group of companies, headquartered in Germany. BASF continues to use this Georgian Revival administration building, designed by the Detroit firm of Chittenden and Kotting and completed in 1907. Subsequent additions to the north have been made in a modern style for laboratory space.
Listed on the State Register of Historic Sites October 11, 1990, marker August 7, 1992. Wyandotte Historical Society plaque offered but not yet accepted.
H. J.B. Ford Company Office, consumer branch of Michigan Alkali
Directly across from the Alkali office is the J.B. Ford Company office. Related to the Michigan Alkali parent company that J.B. Ford founded to produce bulk industrial materials, the J.B. Ford Company was the consumer branch, selling house cleaning supplies and soaps.
I. Site of Ford Village Municipal Building, Demolished 1991
Architecturally significant as an example of early 20th century Neoclassical inspired civic architecture and as the work of Detroit architect J.G. Kastler. Historically significant of one of the few visible reminders of the village of Ford, which prospered under strong local leadership, associated with the commercial concerns.
After annexation of Ford City to Wyandotte in 1922, the building was converted to fire protection and city offices. Wyandotte discontinued use as a fire station in 1972, loaning the building to the Wyandotte Community Theater. In 1991 the building was demolished, severing the relationship to an important part of Wyandotte’s past.
After being demolished, the Wyandotte Historical Society retained the name stone with words “Fire Station #2” and placed a marker on the site.
Listed on the State Register of Historic Sites 12/20/1989.
J. New Street (off of Biddle Ave)
The Edwards family decorated the south side of this short public street with a brick wall that has raised brick piers with planters on top.
K. Arthur Edwards Memorial Bridge, 1932, Named for mayor who died in office
Named the West Jefferson Crossing while being constructed, then renamed the Edwards Memorial Bridge in honor of Wyandotte’s mayor Arthur Edwards (April 1932-August 1932) who died in office while the bridge was being constructed.
L. Emmons Boulevard, named after Judge
Named after Honorable Judge H.H. Emmons, member of a prominent French family from Detroit who owned a large farm along the Ecorse Creek. His home was oftentimes nicknamed “The House of Seven Gables.”
M. Emmons 142, eligible for WHS plaque
Wyandotte Historical Society Plaque offered but not yet accepted.
N. Kings Highway 723, Built 1927
House built by Floyd and Lilian Tucker in 1927.
Wyandotte Historical Society plaque accepted October 10, 1996.
O. Emmons Court 51
Former mayors house.
P. Emmons Court 15
Former house of owners of Howarth Lumber.
Q. Wyandotte Toys Headquarters and factory buildings, New Urbanist designed neighborhood planned in 2004
Site of All-Metal Products and Wyandotte Toys. The Edward home was moved here for use as office. In 2004 plans are to demolish the factory and replace with residential housing in the next two years.
R. Tocco House, Felice 238, 1932 fire associated with Prohibition
Directly connected with gangland warfare during the Prohibition era, Tocco was the main Wyandotte gang kingpin connected with the illegal liquor trade. The house experienced a major fire in 1932, and the residents escaped death by not being there, but 3 years later on May 16, 1935, the owner was killed in a gangland shooting at 275 Antoine.
Distinguishing architectural features on the exterior are a wrought iron fence hung between brick piers with caps that have an egg and dart molding. The entrance and front porch of the house have concrete rails molded to appear like simulated wood. A central tower has a round arched entrance on the first floor with carved stone surround.
Glenwood & Mt. Carmel
A. Mt. Carmel Cemetery
Dedicated in 1869 for Roman Catholic burials. Prominent Wyandotte figures are buried here. Future expansion planned east of the site in area formerly occupied by beer distributorship and box plant.
B. Pulaski Park
Pulaski Park in west Wyandotte was renamed in 1938 in honor of the Polish Revolutionary hero General Casimir Pulaski and to honor the Polish contribution to Wyandotte and America. Polish organizations furnished the commemorative statue.
C. Superior 1592
An eclectic Dutch Colonial house built in 1936 by the Zadny family, grandfather of the current occupant. Zadny was vice president of Wyandotte Savings Bank, and connected to many important local industries and cultural institutions.
The main mass has a side gambrel roof, with a front gambrel entrance tower. A large wall dormer extends from the 1st floor and fills the gap between tower and the main mass. Double hung six-over-six sash windows with fixed shutters flank the tower on the first and the second floor.
Wyandotte Historical Society plaque accepted March 22, 1996.
D. Baird Home, Oak 1427
Colonial Revival home built in the early 1920s and has undergone many changes over the years. Brian and Linda Baird purchased the home in 1977 and have done extensive renovations inside and out.
This building was featured on the first Wyandotte Historic House Tour in 1995.
E. Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church
The current double tower Italian Renaissance church was dedicated on May 9, 1915. This new building replaced the first church whose cornerstone was laid on December 3, 1899 and once completed was dedicated on July 8, 1900. The old building continued to be used as a chapel and school. The Sister’s convent was built in 1919.
During the 17 year pastorate of Reverend Peter Kruzka starting in 1921, an addition to the elementary school was completed, a heating plant installed, the Sister’s convent enlarged, and a complete high school opened in 1938.
After winning the Catholic Parochial City Championships in football in 1951, the members of the parish built a field house for the athletes, consisting of a locker room, two dressing rooms, an equipment room, a utility room, and toilet facilities. The construction of a new gym was also completed.
The cornerstone of a new rectory was blessed on August 24, 1951 by Father Krych.
After being appointed the new Shepherd of Mt. Carmel by appointment of the Chancery in September of 1963, Father Venaty Szymanski began work on the new elementary school. On October 30, 1966 the cornerstone of the new elementary school was blessed.
Wyandotte Historical Society plaque accepted January 22, 1993.
F. Stone Railroad Depot
Depot set between railroad tracks made of field stone. Hipped roof with round side gable. Covered entrance with stone pierse and angled wood bracing. Flag pole with American flag in front. Converted for use by the American Legion.
G. Board of Education Building
Wyandotte’s first high school was built on this site in 1869. One of the first high schools in the State of Michigan, it was built at a time when there was serious debate statewide whether public tax money should be used to support education beyond the elementary level. Several leaders visited Wyandotte’s school and three years after it was opened, the State Supreme Court decided in favor of tax supported high schools.
South Wyandotte
A. Cahalan House
Pallottine Fathers sign facing 4th St.
B. Pallotine Missionary Center, Orange 424
Pallottine Missionary Center. Recently constructed house that harmonizes with Cahalan House adjacent and to the east. Sunburst over front porch.
C. Fifth 3334, Bungalow, Built 1920
Bungalow, 1920.
Wyandotte Historical Society plaque accepted July 30, 1993.
D. Karth House, Eurkea 545, Bungalow, Built 1921
The Karth House was built for Loretta Karth as a honeymoon house in 1921. Her husband Walter was a manager at the Michigan Alkali. A fine example of a bungalow house, this building was featured on the first Wyandotte Historic House Tour in 1995.
Wyandotte Historical Society plaque accepted April 7, 1992.
E. Roosevelt High School, Built 1923
The Roosevelt High School was built on this site in 1923. Previously a 40 acre race track stood on this site, and replacing the racetrack outright was a major reason school officials selected this site for location of a school.
F. Five Adjacent Viaducts, unique engineering feature
Where Eureka passes under five consecutive viaducts is considered a feature of transportation planning and design unique to Wyandotte. Traveling westward, the first four viaducts support railroad tracks above. The fifth was for the Interurban
The interurban connection went north to Detroit and south to Toledo. From Detroit it was possible to go west as far as Grand Rapids, north to Saginaw, and south to Trenton, Monroe, and Toledo. From Toledo it was possible to travel as far as the East Coast, though trains provided more convenient and reliable travel.
When the Interurban discontinued service in the 1930s, tracks, bridges, and trestles were removed. The Interurban viaduct in Wyandotte is believed to be the last remaining example of its type in Michigan. And together the 5 adjacent viaducts are believed to be a unique example of transportation planning and design.
G. Chojnowski House, Cherry 846, Queen Anne, Built 1905
Victorian home, built in 1905. Features include a two story turret, wide open porch, and 2nd floor balcony off the master bedroom. Five generations of the same family have occupied the home.
This building was featured on the first Wyandotte Historic House Tour in 1995.
H. William and Amelia Kuehn Glinke House, Cherry 434, Queen Anne, Built 1895
A wonderful example of achievement made by German immigrants who arrived in the United States during the later half of the 19th century and settled in Wyandotte. Born in 1845 in Wirstiz, Posen, West Prussia, as Wilhelm Glienke, his name was changed during immigration. Glinke immigration about 1870 and worked in the blast furnaces of the Eureka Iron Company. In 1874 he married Ameilia (Emillie) Kuehn (1851-1930) at Trinity Lutheran Church. They had six children. William died in 1925.
This two-story, cross-gabled, weatherboard sided Queen Anne structure, sits on a brick foundation with a Michigan cellar that has a trap door at the northwest corner. The foundation is covered with vertical wood siding.
Listed on the State Register of Historic Sites May 30, 1996.
I. Cherry 335, rehab 1st step to stablizing neighborhood
The Wyandotte community Alliance rehabilitated this house, helping to stabilize and turn the surrounding neighborhood around. Three more homes were built on city property. And then a housing show was held, where commitments were made to build five additional homes.
J. Amo-Juchartz House, Plum 434, Built c.1886
This well-built house, is an excellent example of worker housing built by German immigrants during the late 19th century. A wraparound porch sheltered by a shallow hip roof has turned posts and railing balusters, and a beaded spindlework frieze. The windows have molded caps which have pedimented center sections. Gables have fish-scale shingling above the window sill level.
Listed on the State Register of Historic Sites March 21, 1991.
Wyandotte Historical Society plaque accepted June 7, 1991.
K. St. Helena Roman Catholic Church, Forest 753
This 200 family parish is preparing to celebrate its 80th anniversary in June 2005. Past and current members, and many friends, have come together to repair damage due to old age and a roof that was too heavy for the structure.
Renovations began with cleaning out a storage room that is now a hospitality center where churchgoers gather. The floor was sanded and coated with polyurethane. Walls were patched and painted. Mark Przygocki, spearheaded the cleanup.
Renovations so far have included electrical work, a restroom updated to be handicap accessible, and repairing of cracked walls in the religious education classrooms and stairwells. The confessionals are being updated and moved to allow space for a new stained glass window.
When St. Helena’s was established in 1925, the school was built first, with plans to build a church later. However, after the war, returning soldiers moved away from the neighborhood. Combined with space limitations, resulted in plans for a separate church being scrapped.
Before St. Helena was built, young people walked nearly two miles to attend school at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel on the west side. Parents concerned about kids crossing the railroad tracks, approached the Detroit Diocese to have a school built on the east side. The school was approved, but as part of a new parish, St. Helenas.
Six Felician sisters taught at the school and lived on the second floor. Their modest quarters with original wallpaper are still there and intact.
Plans are being made to invite Cardinal Adam Maida to celebrate mass once the church has been restored, possibly in June 2005. The church anniversary is in December 2005.
L. Grove St Greenway
Built and maintained by the Wyandotte Jaycees.
M. Albion 4150, Last example of worker housing in S. Detroit
Last example of worker housing in South Detroit. A very important house to preserve, to help remember story of Polish and German immigrants who lived on the south side of town, and places where workers in the nearby houses lived.
N. Wyandotte Shores Golf Course, 9-holes, municipally owned
Original plans were to make this area a public park, but a 9-hole municipal golf course was built instead.
A dream of 19th century reformers was to make sanitary and healthy cities, out of factory towns full of immigrants, smoke, and disease. Parks were a tool that they used to accomplish this.
While Wyandotte’s industrial heritage continued through the 20th century, in recent decades the city has transformed to a residential community. One feature that has made Wyandotte an attractive place to live is transformation of industrial property into parks.
O. BASF Waterfront Park, reclaimed factory land
Sculpture. Walkway running along river. Several decks suspended over river to rest and relax. Possible to see all the way to downtown Detroit 12 miles to the north, with the Renaissance Center and other skyscrapers standing on the horizon.
Without the first commercial application of the Bessemer steel manufacturing process in Wyandotte that created steel inexpensively, construction of these skyscrapers would not have been possible.
During the Sesquicentennial celebration in June 2004, a new sculpture celebrating Wyandotte’s ethnic heritage, will be dedicated in BASF park.
P. Panchos II Mexican Restaurant, Biddle 3902
This restaurant provides an example of how a successful business outgrows its original site and moves to a new building nearby, leaving their original building unoccupied and behind. The new building opened in 2003, replacing the old building on a triangular lot across the street.
Q. Offshore Club, Italianate, Built 1895
Once the Offshore Club, the building was likely constructed between 1910-1915 when the shipyard across the street began to take off. In 1929 the Wyandotte Cocktail Lounge opened here. An active player in the Prohibition era, when it was notorious for its back room gambling and after hours blind pigs. In 1955 the building was expanded to 10,000 square feet and housed three separate businesses before returning to use as a lounge in 1963.
In the 1990s the club was remodeled to offer a 1930s era, Chicago-style ambiance. The redesigned Art Deco interior has hardwood floors, mahogany wood, and colored glass fixtures.
R. Site of Lucille Ball House, demolished 1963
While a young girl, Lucille Ball lived on the second floor of this house with her family for a short time. It was here that her father died in 1915 after eating ice cream and contracting typhoid fever. Biographers explain that the death of her father was one factor that inspired her to become a dramatic actress.
Ball returned to Wyandotte on at least two occasions later in her life. During one of these she performed in a vaudeville show at the Wyandotte Theater on Elm and 1st. Regrettably the house she once lived in was demolished in March 1963.
S. American Shipbuilding Company
Though the shipyards have been converted to a park, the administration building remains. The machine shop was located at Grove Street beside the river. Wyandotte was active in shipbuilding from 1870-1922, with just over 200 ships built and launched for use on the Great Lakes.
The administration building still standing on the NW corner of the site, replaced an old building that was the last vestige of the 19th century Wyandotte Shipbuilding Works. A major fire destroyed most of the wooden buildings in 1912 and these were replaced by structure of concrete and steel.
The City of Wyandotte purchased the headquarters to use as a police station and jail from 1920-1960. Later it was occupied by Krutsch Heating.
The flagpole along Biddle Ave was an award given for the most successful regional Liberty war bond drive held at this yard. This was given by the U.S. Shipping Board in thanks for all of the bonds that were sold.
T. Wyandotte Boat Club, Built 1996
The Wyandotte Boat Club is the largest rowing facility in the United States. The lower level features two massive indoor tanks, a weight room, ergometer room, coach’s office, men’s and women’s locker rooms, five storage bays that can hold over 100 shells, and a workshop for repairs. The second level has a beautiful bar and dance floor, a meeting room, outside patio, and balcony overlooking the river.
The boat club has had many homes through the years starting with a rough two story wooden structure at the foot of Vinewood. At that time the only way to travel to races in Ecorse and Detroit was rowing there (upriver) and back (downriver).
The club’s second home was a one bay shell house behind the Legion on Vinewood. Through the efforts of William E. Kreger a life-long rowing enthusiast and benefactor, a third home was secured in 1944 on 7.5 acres donated by the Wyandotte Chemical Corp. later to become BASF. Through donations the club built a boat house on the site that was used for fifty years. A complete clubhouse was also built on the river and in 1953 was leased to The Wyandotte Yacht Club. Revenues of that lease were used to support the club’s rowing programs is they still do today.
In the mid 1940s the boat club began a program to sponsor rowing for high school students. Theodore Roosevelt High School was the first school to participate, followed by Our Lady of Mount Carmel High School. In 1947 the Wyandotte Boat Club hosted the 13th Annual National Schoolboy Regatta.
Today the club supports rowing at the elementary, middle and high school levels. The programs are open to all students and there are no charges to students or schools for use of the facilities. The club’s oarsmen have are competitive nationally and internationally.
By the late 1990s growth demanded expanded facilities again. The club turned to BASF and Bill Kreger again for help. Working with the City of Wyandotte and other groups, the club embarked on designing a new world class, Olympic caliber facility.
After 125 years of existence, the facility is located at the foot of Pine Street where it first began. The new $1.8 million dollar facility has enabled the club to expand its rowing family to include six local schools. On January 14, 1997, after sixteen months of construction, the first high school and club crews began winter training in the new facility.
| Date | Action |
| 2004-03-02 | Proposal to create a “Tour of Wyandotte’s History and Architecture” with a) script for guides to use on guided tours, b) a map with inset pictures and descriptive text, and c) a website with greater detail than script and map. |
| 2004-03-07 | Reviewed DeWindt Historic Tour of Wyandotte for source material. |
| 2004-03-07 | Adapted text from brochure “Historic Structure, Wyandotte’s Historic Buildings, Wyandotte Historical Society.” |
| 2004-03-07 | Develop website with information on neighborhoods and historic preservation. |
| 2004-03-09 | Reviewed text from “Wyandotte Historic Home Script.” |
| 2004-03-09 | Produced first draft of “Tour of Wyandotte’s History and Architecture.” |
| 2004-03-14 | Presented first draft of “Tour of Wyandotte’s History and Architecture” for review by local historians. |
| 2004-03-28 | Produced second draft of “Tour of Wyandotte’s History and Architecture.” |
| 2004-03-31 | Create base of Wyandotte Map. |
| 2024-04-01 | Create inside of Wyandotte Map with sites and districts. |
| 2004-04-01 | Edited second draft of “Tour of Wyandotte’s History and Architecture.” |
| 2024-04-12 | Produced third draft of “Sesquicentennial Tour of Wyandotte, Michigan, 1854-2004.” |
| 2004-04-19 | Met with Mayor Sabuda to discuss map project. |
| 2004-04-28 | Produced third draft of “Sesquicentennial Tour of Wyandotte, Michigan, 1854-2004.” |
| 2004-04-29 | Finalized inside of Wyandotte Map. |
| 2004-05-01 | Prepared breakout of Wyandotte Map for downtown area only. |
| 2024-05-02 | Interview with Danz family for tour. |
| 2024-05-13 | Resolve distribution of map issues with the Wyandotte Sesquicentennial Committee offering 350 copies. |
| 2024-05-28 | Produce inset map of Michigan from Sanborn map graphics. |
| 2024-06-01 | Began distribution of Wyandotte Map among businesses. |
| 2024-06-17 | Offered to make maps available to the Sesquicentennial Committee. |
| 2004-07-09 | Received letter from Wyandotte Museum on Wyandotte Map. |
| 2004-07-13 | Continued to negotiate making maps available to the Sesquicentennial Committe. Finalized Sesquicentennial Tour of Wyandotte, Michigan script. |
| 2004-12-22 | Updated Wyandotte Tour website. |
| 2005-06-19 | Worked to make map available through website online. |
| 2005-07-06 | Superimposed coverage of birdseye and Sanborn maps against base map. |
| 2005-12-12 | Revised Sesquicentennial Tour of Wyandotte, Michigan script. |
| 2005-12-16 | Revised Sesquicentennial Tour of Wyandotte, Michigan script. |