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Charles Palmer House
Charles Palmer House.jpg
Location 240 N. Main St., Imlay City, Michigan
Area less than one acre
Built 1890 (1890)
Architectural style Queen Anne
NRHP reference No. 87000916
Added to NRHP June 12, 1987

The Charles Palmer House is a cool old home located at 240 North Main Street in Imlay City, Michigan. It's a special building because it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. This means it's an important part of history!

Who Was Charles Palmer?

Charles Palmer was born in Saratoga County, New York in 1831. He started working on railroads when he was just 17 years old! He was a civil engineer, which means he designed and built things like railroads.

By 1851, he was working in Toledo, Ohio. He moved to Wisconsin in 1853, and then to Michigan in 1856. In Michigan, he became the chief engineer for the Port Huron and Lake Michigan Railroad.

Building Imlay City

Charles Palmer loved the land in Michigan. He helped plan and create the town that became Imlay City.

In 1870, he started building the Bancroft House. This was a hotel for people traveling by train in Imlay City. Over the next few years, he did even more for the town. He opened a bank and worked on the school board. He also served as a village trustee, helping to run the town.

The Palmer House History

Charles Palmer built a house on this spot very early in Imlay City's history. Then, in 1890, he moved that first house to the back of the property.

He then built this new, bigger house for his family. Charles Palmer lived in this beautiful home until he passed away in 1916.

What Does the House Look Like?

The Charles Palmer House is a two-story home. It is built from wood and has a special style called Queen Anne.

This style is known for lots of fancy wood details. The house has many different window shapes and sizes. Its roof is also very interesting, with many different sloped and pointed parts.

Cool Details

The house has lots of cool decorations made from wood. You can see different patterns of wood shingles. There are also carved flowers above the first-floor windows.

The porches on both the first and second floors have fancy turned wood details. One part of the house is a three-story tower. It has square-shaped shingles and decorative brackets near the top. All these details make the house look very unique and grand!

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