Philetus W. Norris House

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{{main article|Philetus Norris}}

Philetus W. Norris was born in Palmyra, New York in 1821, the son of John Norris, Jr. and Azubah Phelps.{{Cite news |last=Spilos |first=Steve |date=June 1, 1972 |title="A Man Nobody Knows" Was One of Michigan's Greatest |work=Legal Advertiser |publication-place=Detroit, Mich.}} Reproduced in: {{Citation |last=Griffin |first=Robert P. |title=A MAN NOBODY KNOWS |date=June 26, 1972 |work=Congressional Record |volume=118 |issue= 30 |pages=22491–22492 |url=https://www.congress.gov/92/crecb/1972/06/26/GPO-CRECB-1972-pt17-7.pdf#page=231 |author-link=Robert P. Griffin |department=Extensions of Remarks |mode=cs1}} In 1826, they bought {{convert|80|acre|m2}}[http://members.dslextreme.com/users/enorrste/1791john.html Norris family genealogy]{{dead link|date=March 2018|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}} in Michigan, moving there soon thereafter.{{Cite book |last=Binkowski |first=Don |title=Col. P. W. NORRIS: Yellowstone's Greatest Superintendent - America's Early Environmental Champion (1877–1882) |date=1995 |publisher=C & D of Warren |isbn=0-9646527-0-6 |publication-place=Warren, Michigan |pages=57, 310, see also p. 68 |id=Google Books [https://books.google.com/books?id=GKbQAAAACAAJ GKbQAAAACAAJ], [https://books.google.com/books?id=UQ56AAAAMAAJ UQ56AAAAMAAJ].}}{{Cite book |last=Watson |first=Ralph |title=Historical Collections: Collections and Researches made by the Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society / Michigan Pioneer and Historical Collections |date=1894–1896 |publisher=Robert Smith & Co., state printers and binders |volume=26 |publication-place=Lansing |page=94, in pp. 84–99, in pp. 23–204, in pp. 1–308 |chapter=Annual Meeting, 1894 : Report of the Memorial Committee / Memorial Report : Clinton County : Mrs. Mahala Norris |id=HathiTrust [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015071219649&seq=108 mdp.39015071219649].}}

Norris left school early and traveled all around the midwest to trap and trade.[http://metrotimes.com/editorial/story.asp?id=12870 A spirit of Detroit], Sandra Svoboda, Metro Times, May 14, 2008 He In 1838, Norris settled in northwest Ohio, and in 1845 he married Jane K. Cottrell. They had four children: Edward, Aurelia, Ida and Arthur. Norris fought in the Civil War began, served as a spy, and eventually rose to the rank of Colonel.

After the Civil War, Norris moved to Michigan, where he founded the town of Norris in 1873 and ran a successful real estate and newspaper business. In 1877, Norris became the second superintendent of Yellowstone National Park, a position he held until 1882. Norris died in 1885, and is buried in Woodmere Cemetery.

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When Norris moved to Michigan, he managed land which belonged to officers and soldiers of both the Union and Confederate armies as part of a federal contract.{{Synthesis inline|date=April 2025}} In 1873, he platted the village of Norris in Wayne County at the location where his house now still stands. Norris had originally wanted to name the town "Prairie Mound," but the Detroit and Bay City Railroad (who Norris had convinced to run through the area) posted "Norris" on the depot, and the name stuck.[https://books.google.com/books?id=Y-FPXEGRo-YC Walter Romig], Michigan Place Names, Wayne State University Press, Detroit, 1986, {{ISBN|0-8143-1838-X}}, p. 402.

The original village boundaries were roughly Seven Mile Road on the north, Mound Road on the west, Six Mile Road on the south, and Van Dyke Road on the east.[http://detroit1701.org/Norris%20Home.html Philetus Norris Home] from Detroit1701.org To ensure the success of his community, Norris drained the creek that ran through the area to open up land for farming and maintained the plank road that ran between Detroit and Mount Clemens, operating a tollbooth located in the village. Norris also built the Two Way Inn, which was originally the village's jail and general store; Norris lived there until he built his nearby house. The Two Way Inn still stands as of 2019; other than a nearby church and the Philetus W. Norris House itself, it is the only building remaining from the original village of Norris.

The village was settled primarily by German Lutherans, farmers who sold their produce to Detroit residents. By 1880, the population of Norris had grown to approximately 250 people . The village boasted, in addition to the railroad depot, a hotel, wagon shop, sawmill, multiple homes, and more.[http://www.detroitmi.gov/historic/districts/norris_hse.pdf Philetus Norris House] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718062249/http://www.detroitmi.gov/historic/districts/norris_hse.pdf |date=2011-07-18 }} from the city of Detroit. In 1891, the village of Norris was renamed "North Detroit." The city boundaries of Detroit gradually crept nearer, and in 1924 Detroit annexed the village. The only modern-day indication that the area was once a separate village is the "Nortown" moniker on some local businesses, evoking the old names of "Norris" and "North Detroit."

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The Philetus W. Norris House was built in 1873; it is a two-story late Victorian vernacular structure. At the time it was built, the home had gingerbread trim, brick chimneys and leafy trees in its yard. Norris moved from the Two Way Inn into this house, and also constructed a wing along one side from which he ran his real estate business.

Norris moved to Yellowstone in 1877, but the Norris family owned the house until 1916, when they sold it to William Lynch. Lynch used it in part to operate a boarding house, and sold the home in 1925, when it was converted to a three-family unit. The house was owned and occupied by a series of residents, and in 1965 was converted back to a single-family residence; this may have been the time when the exterior was covered with the asphalt siding still on the house today. The home was occupied until 1991, when the last owner moved out and the property was listed as abandoned and tax delinquent.

The house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992, and was designated a city of Detroit historic district in 1995. The Nortown Community Development Corporation purchased the house with plans to restore it, but in 1999 an arsonist badly damaged the property. As of 2008, the home is abandoned, although plans are still in the works to complete restoration.

On July 3, 2016, the Philetus Norris House was substantially destroyed by fire, leaving only a portion standing.{{cite web |url=http://www.dailydetroit.com/2016/07/07/historic-yellowstone-superintendent-home/ |title=A Piece Of Detroit’s History From The 1870s Burned Last Weekend |last=Nocerini |first=Shianne |date=7 July 2016 |website=Daily Detroit |access-date=17 February 2017 }}

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• [http://www.nortowncdc.org/ Nortown Community Development Corporation]

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{{Metro Detroit Historic Homes}}

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{{National Register of Historic Places in Michigan}}

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

Category:Houses in Detroit

Category:Houses completed in 1873

Category:Burned houses in the United States

Category:National Register of Historic Places in Detroit