Mann House (Concord, Michigan) facts for kids
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Mann House
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House in 2008
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| Location | 205 Hanover Street, Concord, Michigan |
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| Built | 1883 |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian |
| NRHP reference No. | 70000273 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1970 |
The Mann House is a special old home located at 205 Hanover Street in Concord, Michigan. It's recognized as a Michigan State Historic Site and is also on the National Register of Historic Places. This means it's an important building in history! Since 1970, the Mann House has been open as a museum, showing what life was like long ago.
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History of the Mann House
Daniel Sears Mann and Ellen E. Keeler got married in 1873. They lived on a farm outside of Concord. They had three children, but one child passed away when they were young.
By the 1880s, the Mann family wanted to live in town. This would make it easier for their daughters, Jessie Ellen and Mary Ida, to go to school in Concord. So, they bought some land and built this house between 1883 and 1884. As the girls grew up, their home became a popular place for social gatherings in town.
Life of the Mann Sisters
Jessie Ellen Mann went to the University of Michigan and earned a degree in 1906. After that, she taught math, mostly in schools in Battle Creek. She continued to live in the family home.
Around the year 1900, her sister Mary Ida traveled to the Philippine Islands to work as a teacher. She got married there. Mary Ida and her husband moved to different places in the United States. However, she often came back to visit her childhood home in Concord. When her husband passed away in 1942, Mary Ida moved back into the Mann House.
The House Becomes a Museum
In 1947, a modern kitchen was added to the back of the house. The two sisters, Jessie Ellen and Mary Ida, lived in the house for the rest of their lives. Mary Ida died in 1959. Jessie Ellen lived in the house until she passed away in 1969.
In their wills, the sisters left the house to the people of Michigan. The Michigan Historical Center has been running it as a museum since 1970. The Mann House was officially named a Michigan State Historic Site on June 18, 1970. It was also added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1970. This house is a great example of what a middle-class home looked like in the 1880s.
Design of the Mann House
The Mann House is mostly shaped like a rectangle. It was built using a wood frame and designed in the Late Victorian style. The outside walls are covered with clapboard siding, which are long, thin boards.
Outside Features
Above the main entrance, at one corner of the house, there's a tall, pointed tower with a pyramid-shaped roof. The main roof is a cross-gable style, meaning it has two sections that meet at a ridge. You can see some fancy decorations called Eastlake Style trim. These decorations are on the vergeboards (the trim along the edge of the roof), the front door, the porch, and the smaller gablets (small gables).
Behind the main house, there's a separate building called a carriage house. This is where horses and carriages would have been kept long ago. The main house has three different entrances, each with its own porch.
Inside the House
When the house was first built, the first floor had an entrance hall, a parlor (a formal living room), a sitting room, a dining room, a bedroom, a kitchen, a pantry, and a wood-shed. Upstairs, on the second floor, there were five bedrooms.
In 1947, when the modern kitchen was added, the old wood-shed was changed into a laundry room. Today, the inside of the house still has most of its original furniture and household items. The ceilings are made of plaster. There's also a fireplace inside that looks like it's made of marble, but it's actually slate that's been painted to look like marble.
Gallery
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Front of house
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One of the house's bedrooms
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Carriage house
See also
