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Oliver Street Historic District
Bigelow-Dewey House - Owosso Michigan.jpg
Bigelow-Dewey House
Oliver Street Historic District is located in Michigan
Oliver Street Historic District
Location in Michigan
Oliver Street Historic District is located in the United States
Oliver Street Historic District
Location in the United States
Location Oliver St. between 3rd and Oak Sts., Williams and Goodhue Sts., Owosso, Michigan
Area 58 acres (23 ha)
Architect Multiple
Architectural style Greek Revival, Italianate, Queen Anne
MPS Owosso MRA
NRHP reference No. 80001905
Added to NRHP November 4, 1980

The Oliver Street Historic District is a special neighborhood in Owosso, Michigan. It's mostly made up of homes, found along Oliver Street and parts of Williams and Goodhue Streets. This area is so important that it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. This means its buildings and history are protected!

A Look Back: History of Oliver Street

Even when Owosso was first settled, Oliver Street was where many of the town's most important families chose to live. The very first houses here were built in 1838 and 1840 by the Williams brothers, who were pioneers in the area.

More and more homes were built along Oliver Street throughout the 1800s. This growth continued right up until the start of the Great Depression, a time in the 1930s when many people faced tough economic challenges.

What Makes Oliver Street Special: Architecture and Homes

Because houses were built over a long time, Oliver Street shows off many different building styles. You can see homes in styles like Greek Revival, Italianate, and Queen Anne. There are also Gothic Revival, French Second Empire, and even some unique mixed styles!

The neighborhood has 122 properties in total. Most of these, 114, are homes where people live. The other seven properties are churches.

Cool Homes and Buildings to See

There are many important and interesting buildings in the Oliver Street Historic District. Here are a few examples:

  • Josiah Turner Residence (105 Goodhue Street): This two-story house was built in 1856 for Judge Josiah Turner. It's made of wood with a Greek Revival style.
  • Christ Episcopal Church (Fayette Square): This church is made of red brick and was built in 1859 in the Romanesque style. It has had several additions over the years.
  • Ebenezer Gould Residence (419 North Shiawassee Street): Built in 1860, this brick Italianate home belonged to Ebenezer Gould. He was Owosso's very first merchant, selling goods to the community.
  • Goodhue-Christian Residence (302 West Oliver Street): This brick Italianate home was built around 1860 for the Goodhue family, who owned a big dry-goods business. Later, Daniel Christian, who started Christian's Department Store, bought it and made it a single-family home again.
  • James Colby Residence (406 East Oliver Street): This eye-catching Queen Anne style house was built in 1881. It belonged to James Singer Colby, who was a nephew of Isaac Singer, the inventor of the first affordable sewing machine!
  • William Bigelow Residence / Thomas Dewey Boyhood Home (421 West Oliver Street): This home was built in 1898 for pharmacist William H. Bigelow. Later, in 1914, the family of George Martin Dewey moved in. Their son, Thomas Dewey, who would later become a famous politician, grew up here.
  • James Curwood Residence (508 West Williams Street): This brick Georgian Revival home was built in 1910 for the famous author James Oliver Curwood. His writing studio, known as the "Curwood Castle", is just two blocks away!
  • Calvin Bentley Residence (621 West Oliver Street): This Tudor Revival style house was built in the mid-1920s. It was home to Calvin Bentley, whose father founded the Owosso Manufacturing Company.

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