George P. MacNichol House

{{Infobox NRHP

| name = George P. MacNichol House

| nrhp_type =

| image = MacNicholHouseWyandotteMi.jpg

| image_size = 258

| caption =

| location = 2610 Biddle Ave., Wyandotte, Michigan

| coordinates = {{coord|42|12|27|N|83|8|56|W|display=inline,title}}

| locmapin = Michigan#USA

| built = 1896

| architect = Malcomson & Higginbotham

| architecture = Queen Anne

| added = May 24, 1984

| area = less than one acre

| refnum = 84001859{{NRISref|2009a}}

| designated_other1 = Michigan State Historic Site

| designated_other1_date = November 15, 1973

| designated_other1_number =

| designated_other1_num_position = bottom

}}

The George P. MacNichol House, also known as the Ford-MacNichol House,{{cite web |title=Ford-MacNichol Home History |publisher=Wyandotte Museums |url=http://www.wyandottemuseums.org/dotnetnuke/Campus/FordMacNicholHome/History/tabid/97/Default.aspx |access-date=August 5, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310111936/http://www.wyandottemuseums.org/dotnetnuke/Campus/FordMacNicholHome/History/tabid/97/Default.aspx |archive-date=March 10, 2012 }} is a house located at 2610 Biddle Avenue in Wyandotte, Michigan. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1973 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

The house is currently used as the main historic house museum of Wyandotte Museums.{{cite web|title = George P. MacNichol Home/Wyandotte Historical Museum |author = Ren Farley|publisher = Detroit1701.org| url=http://detroit1701.org/MacNichol%20Home.html| access-date = August 5, 2010}} The Marx House is also owned by the Museums and used for art exhibits and community meeting space.

History

Edward Ford (also the builder of the Ford-Bacon House across the street){{cite web|title = Ford-Bacon Memorial House Virtual Tour|publisher = Bacon Memorial District Library|url = http://www.baconlibrary.org/ford1.htm|access-date = August 5, 2010|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100313212627/http://www.baconlibrary.org/ford1.htm|archive-date = March 13, 2010|url-status = dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.mcgi.state.mi.us/hso/sites/17179.htm|title=Ford-Bacon House|publisher=Michigan State Housing Development Authority: Historic Sites Online|access-date=August 5, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120511130523/http://www.mcgi.state.mi.us/hso/sites/17179.htm|archive-date=May 11, 2012}} was the son of glass pioneer John Baptiste Ford and the founder of the Michigan Alkali Company in Wyandotte and the Ford Plate Glass Company in Toledo, Ohio, (later the Libbey–Owens–Ford Company).{{cite web|url=http://www.mcgi.state.mi.us/hso/sites/17187.htm|title=MacNichol, George P., House|publisher=Michigan State Housing Development Authority: Historic Sites Online|access-date=August 5, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100828025713/http://www.mcgi.state.mi.us/hso/sites/17187.htm|archive-date=August 28, 2010}} In 1896, Ford hired Malcomson & Higginbotham to design this home as wedding gift for his daughter Laura on her marriage to George P. MacNichol.{{citation|title = Wyandotte|author = Ken Munson |publisher = Arcadia Publishing|year = 2007|isbn = 978-0-7385-5103-6 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=kDK9VggmhfIC|pages = 78–79}} MacNichol was a medical doctor, but was active in research and development work for both the Ford Plate Glass Company and the Michigan Alkali Company. The couple lived in the house for seven years before moving to Toledo to be closer to family.

After the MacNichols moved, the house was purchased by Jeremiah Drennen, a local lawyer. The Drennen family owned the house until the 1970s, when it was purchased by Yvonne Latta. Latta restored the house, and in 1977, it was purchased by the city of Wyandotte.

Description

The George P. MacNichol House is a two-and-one-half-story wood-framed rectangular-plan gabled Queen Anne house. It has 32 rooms and 6600 feet of interior space, with 6 fireplaces, 65 windows, and 53 doors. The roof and gables are steeply pitched. The front facade features a one-story wraparound porch with Tuscan columns and under-eave latticework, and a corner turret with conical roof. Most of the house is sheathed in clapboards, with the gable ends and upper portion of the tower covered in shingles.

The house is significant as an example of the residential architecture of the firm of Malcomson & Higginbotham, and for the house's association with some of the community's most prominent people.

References

External links

[http://www.wyandottemuseums.org/ Wyandotte Museums]

Category:Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan

Category:Queen Anne architecture in Michigan

Category:Houses completed in 1896

Category:Houses in Wayne County, Michigan

Category:Michigan State Historic Sites

Category:National Register of Historic Places in Wayne County, Michigan