540 Union St

In 1883, Mrs. Catherine Gallagher built this Italianate house as a tenement investment. Mrs. Gallagher lived in the house to the south and also owned several other properties in town. Mrs. Gallagher had come to Milford from Ireland with her husband and children and was a shrewd land investor as a widow. She made many land donations to the Catholic Church in Milford.

The house was sold from her estate by her daughter, Mary, in 1908, to Charles Price for $825. Mr. Price actually lived directly across the street in another tenement built and owned by Mrs. Gallagher, and his son, Wesley Price, lived here in 540 Union.

In the early 1900’s the house looked very different. The front porch covered the entire front of the house. The porch eventually rotted and was completely replaced.  The carriage house was in the rear of the house. When an addition was constructed, the carriage house was linked to the main structure and became the dining/family room. This early addition to the house (before 1923) added the kitchen and bath with running water from a large cistern in the attic upstairs. A large water meter was in the middle of the kitchen.

722 North Main        Wilkinson-Moore House - 1928

Prairie-style bungalow

Lot 4, Block 2, Andrews addition of Milford Township went through many owners from 1835, when the Government first sold it to Aaron Phelps until 1926, when Lottie Louella Lamb and Frank S. Hubbell sold the land to Matthew Blackford, 55, widower, and   bricklayer from Brighton, Michigan. In 1926, Blackford mortgaged the land and hired Stephen A. McCall to build this home, while, lore has it, Mr. Blackford courted a lady who worked in the Milford post office to be his spouse. The marriage did not take place, and we know that Mr. McCall put a lien on the property for $308.69 due to non-payment of funds for building the house. In the same year, First State Bank foreclosed on the house. It appears that Mr. Blackford never occupied this house. The First State Bank of Milford, closed in receivership in 1933.

John Earl Wilkinson, prominent Milford pharmacist, purchased the home for his wife, Bessie, in 1930. For the next 75 years, John and Bessie and their two children would live in this home. Mr. Wilkerson was very talented and created beautiful wood puzzles and toys, as well as many built-ins and cabinets. He kept his workshop in the basement.

722 N. Main St

645 N. Main St

645 North Main –Tenny - Cordone House, 1858

Gothic Revival house

Edwin A. Tenny built this charming Gothic Revival home in 1858. Tenny was a cabinet and casket maker and partner with Brook Tower in the woodworking mill (Tenny and Tower Mill), just west of this house.

Tenny was the father of Herbert Tenny on the south side at 629 North Main and his son. Herbert inherited this house, as well as the woodworking business. In addition to the Tenny and Grieg Hall and Tenny And Grieg Mill, Herbert was noted as the designer of the lights for Ferguson’s Opera House when it opened in 1876.

Eventually the house grew old and was scheduled for demolition when the Barnes family purchased it and renovated the entire structure, adding the workshop over the garage, the heat stove in the dining area and enclosing the front porch.

629 N. Main – Tenny-Gilbert house

Inside-out  (post and beam) house.

This home was built in 1861 by Sterling Hebbard, one of the four Hebbard brothers. Hebbard never lived here. The house was rented by Herbert D. Tenny, his wife and two children in 1862 and they purchased the home in 1868. In 1869, Tenny divided the property and deeded the south side of the property to his business partner, William Grieg where Grieg lived until 1882. Tenny’s brother, Edwin A. Tenny lived next door at 645 North Main.

The house was built in three segments. The north side of the house was built first. The parlor and bedroom were added on the south side some time later. At this time there were no baths. There was a cistern for rain water and an outside pump. The plumbing, bedroom upstairs and bathrooms were added at a later date. The house was built on barn frame construction; corner posts are 10 by 10. Stringers were run across the frame for a second floor using 8 by 8 posts. We would call this “post and beam” construction.

629  N. Main St

859 Laurel Lane

859 Laurel Lane – Meredith House - 1991

Colonial

As you turn onto Laurel Lane, “on the hill”, you will recognize which home belongs to the owners of “Your Nesting Place” from the outside. The flower beds, decorations and handmade shell chandelier speak from the curbside that “Here is an interesting place to visit.”

The Merediths are the third owners of this house which they have lived in for ten years. During this time, Chris says everything has been painted at least four times. The originality and vibrant personality of the owners is manifest in every room. Start with the former living room that is now the dining room – note the vignettes in the far cabinet. See the pair of doors from the 1860s which now separate the current dining room from the former dining room, which is a delightful sitting room. Custom, one-of-a kind pieces can be found throughout the home – from large armoires to wall hangings.

Many pieces have been enhanced by Chris herself – the plain pine armoire in the dining area has been painted, an antique wallpaper added to the doors and “Pop!” The fireplace surround was refinished with “crackle paint” and – “Wow!” The TV stand was an old sales cabinet from a Milford store, the list goes on and on.

The Milford Historical Museum

This 1853 Greek revival structure which houses the Milford Historical Society Museum was built by local cabinet maker John Wood. Through the years it served as home to Edwin Hubbell, a local merchant, and later his son, Frank “Trader” Hubbell. Dr. Weisbrod also had his home and office located here. Much local activity centered on this building when it contained the offices for Milford Village, Milford Township and the Police Department.

The Museum - 124 E Commerce Rd

The Powerhouse

In 1938, the automotive industry was young and the early auto barons were bold, innovative men. One of Henry Ford’s pioneering ideas was the coexistence of technology, modern production and farming. Workers would have “one foot in agriculture…and the other in industry.”

Ford began developing his vision by creating “Village Industries.” He chose sites in southeast Michigan: Milan, Brooklyn, Saline, Northville, Macon and Milford where early water powers still existed. He restored existing historic mills or constructed modern buildings, creating small industrial complexes in these rural settings.

Milford’s Upper Mill Pond, created by an early 1845 dam, became the site of the 12th Village Industry when the Ford Carburetor Factory  was built in 1938. Albert Kahn designed the factory and two hydroelectric stations, one on the Huron River and one on Pettibone Creek to supply the factory with power.

Milford’s Powerhouse, historically the Pettibone Creek Hydroelectric Station, is one of only a few buildings in southeast Michigan that remains from this interesting experiment. The striking silhouette of this restored Art Deco building will stand to tell an important story of local and regional history.