Fairgrove Avenue Historic District facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Fairgrove Avenue Historic District
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North side of Fairgrove at Lexington
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 Location in Michigan
Location in the United States
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| Location | Along Fairgrove Ave. between N. Saginaw and Edison Sts., Pontiac, Michigan |
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| Area | 8 acres (3.2 ha) |
| Built | 1895 |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival, Queen Anne |
| NRHP reference No. | 85000166 |
| Added to NRHP | January 31, 1985 |
The Fairgrove Avenue Historic District is a special neighborhood in Pontiac, Michigan. It is famous for its beautiful old homes. This area was officially recognized as a historic place in 1985. You can find it along Fairgrove Avenue, between North Saginaw and Edison Streets.
Contents
Exploring the Fairgrove Avenue Historic District
How the District Began
The city of Pontiac was started in 1818. Over time, more homes were built, spreading out from the city center. The land where the Fairgrove Avenue Historic District now stands was once a fairground.
The Oakland County Agricultural Society owned this land. They used it for county fairs starting in 1850. During the American Civil War, this fairground was also used. Soldiers trained and gathered here before going off to war.
In 1895, the Agricultural Society bought new land for their fairs. They then divided the old fairground into smaller pieces. These pieces were planned out for building homes. This is how Fairgrove Avenue and other streets were created.
By 1904, most of the homes on Fairgrove Avenue were already built. The entire district was finished by 1920.
Who Lived Here?
The first people to live in the Fairgrove Avenue Historic District were mostly middle-class families. They had jobs like merchants (people who sold goods), ministers, doctors, and lawyers. There were also shop foremen, clerks, and salesmen.
Some important people lived in this neighborhood. Dr. Harry C. Quillot was the Mayor of Pontiac from 1901 to 1905. Other notable residents included Dr. Leon F. Cobb, attorney George Armstrong Cram, Judge Kleber P. Rockwell, and Reverend Eugene A. Barlett.
What Makes Fairgrove Avenue Special?
The Fairgrove Avenue Historic District is one block long. It has 28 homes built around the turn of the 20th century. These homes are on fairly small plots of land.
Shade trees line the street, making it a pleasant place. Almost every spot on the block has a house. There is only one empty lot where a house was once damaged by fire and removed.
You can also see a stone marker at the corner of Fairgrove and N. Saginaw. This marker remembers the Civil War history of the fairground.
Homes and Their Styles
Most of the houses in the district were built between 1895 and 1920. Many of them were finished before 1910. The homes show different architectural styles. Some are in the Colonial Revival style, which looks back to early American designs. Others are in the Queen Anne style, known for its decorative details.
All the houses are about two-and-a-half stories tall. They are similar in size and how far back they are from the street. Almost all of them have large front porches. Most are single-family homes. There are also two duplexes (buildings with two separate living spaces). A few homes have been changed into apartments.
