William R. Kirby Sr. House

William R. Kirby Sr. House
Location 377 State Rd.
Nearest city Hillsdale, Michigan
Coordinates 41°55′36″N 84°34′41″W / 41.92667°N 84.57806°W / 41.92667; -84.57806Coordinates: 41°55′36″N 84°34′41″W / 41.92667°N 84.57806°W / 41.92667; -84.57806
Area 3 acres (1.2 ha)
Built 1845 (1845)
Architectural style Greek Revival
NRHP Reference # 82002836[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP July 20, 1982
Designated MSHS June 15, 1979[2]

The William R. Kirby Sr. House, also known as the Kirby–Keefer House, is a private house located at 377 State Road in Hillsdale, Michigan. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1979[2] and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.[1] It is one of the few early cobblestone houses extant in Michigan.[2]

History

William Kirby Sr
Hannah Kirby

William Kirby Sr. was born near Leeds, England in 1805.[3] He married Hannah Sykes, and the couple emigrated to the United States in 1827.[4] After living in New York and Ohio, in 1835 they moved to Hillsdale County to homestead,[3] one of the first families to settle in the area.[2] In the 1840s, William and Hannah constructed this house.[2] It took three years to gather the cobbles used in construction.[5] Hannah Kirby died in 1876 and William in 1888, by which time their homestead had grown to 240 acres.[4] The house was eventually passed on to William Kirby Jr.[3]

The house was later owned by Robert Keefer.[5]

Description

The Kirby House is a two-story Greek Revival with a gable roof and single story additions on the side and rear.[2] The house is constructed of fieldstone faced with parallel rows of cobblestones, with cut sandstone quoins, lintels, and sills.

References

  1. 1 2 National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Kirby, William R. Sr. House". Michigan State Housing Development Authority: Historic Sites Online. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 Crisfield Johnson (1879), History of Hillsdale County, Michigan: With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers, Everts & Abbott, p. 228
  4. 1 2 Elon Galusha Reynolds, ed. (1903), Compendium of History and Biography of Hillsdale County, Michigan, A.W. Bowen, pp. 156–57
  5. 1 2 JoAnne P. Miller. "The Will Carleton Poorhouse - In the Beginning". Hillsdale County Historical Society. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
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