Do you like to know about what once was and about the story of a place? I do and I guess that’s just because I’m a curious person by nature. I thought I would so some internet searching to discover what’s in our own backyard when it comes to interesting history. Let’s get started!
Interesting Historic Places In Oakland County Michigan
Myrick-Palmer House (Also known as Charles H. Palmer House)
Location: 223 W. Huron St., Pontiac, Michigan
Circa: 1850s
Construction: A timber-framed, Italian Villa style two-story house on a fieldstone foundation.
Interior: On the interior, a center entrance hall runs through the building, opening onto a parlor and two smaller rooms. Three bedrooms are on the second floor.
The Eli and Sidney Teeter Albertson House
Location: 4480 Sheldon Rd., Oakland Township, Michigan
Circa: Main House 1856
Construction: A rare Victorian example of an I-house n Oakland Township. A two-story rectangular, side-gabled building five bays wide, on a fieldstone foundation. The house is likely timber-framed.
The Gregor S. and Elizabeth B. Affleck House (Also known as the Affleck House)
Location: 1925 N. Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Circa: 1940
Construction: A Usonian house constructed of brick and cypress. Sited in a natural amphitheater on a sloping lot.
Interior: The main entrance opens into an entry foyer, which is connected to a main skylit loggia. A light well in the floor of the loggia opens onto a stream below. The loggia extends into the living/dining space, which is cantilevered out over the small stream.
Further Information: This was the first of 27 homes in Michigan designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright. One of only about 25 pre-World War II Usonians to be built. Later the owners commissioned Wright to construct a second house on the adjoining lot, known as the Pergola House.
Location: 31110 W. 11 Mile Rd., Farmington Hills, Michigan
Circa: 1843
Construction: Two-story Greek Revival farmhouse. An upright-and-double wing Greek Revival of post-and-beam construction. It is covered with clapboard and sits on a fieldstone foundation.
Interior: The interior includes a parlor, sitting room, dining room, bedroom, and kitchen on the ground floor, with the kitchen likely a c. 1880 addition. The second floor contains two more bedrooms. The interior is generally simple, with little decoration. Walls are plaster, and the floors are softwood tongue-and-groove planking. The stairs to the second floor are mahogany.
Further information: One of a few remaining Greek Revival style houses in southeast Michigan still located on the site where built.
The Axford-Coffin Farm (Also known as Cranberry Lake Farm)
Location: 384-388 West Predmore Road, Oakland Charter Township, Michigan
Circa: 1840s
Construction: A Greek Revival structure, originally built in the 1840s and modernized in the 1930s and 40s. It was originally an upright-and-wing form, and various additions have expanded its footprint. It has a fieldstone foundation, fieldstone chimneys, and wood clapboard siding.
Further information: In 1996, Oakland Charter Township purchased the property, establishing it as “Cranberry Lake Park.” The section containing the farmstead was separately designated “Cranberry Lake Farm.”
There are several more interesting historic properties in the Oakland County area, but hopefully, this has piqued your curiosity. What can you tell me about your historic home?
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