The Caswell House is a single family house located at 60 W. Wattles Road in
Troy, Michigan
Troy is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, United States. Its population was 87,294 at the 2020 U.S. census, making Troy the most populous city in the county and the 13th most-populous municipality in the state. Troy is a northern suburb of Me ...
in the
Troy Museum and Historic Village. It is an especially well-preserved example of
Greek Revival
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...
architecture.
It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1969
and listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1972.
History
In May 1823,
pioneering farmer Solomon Caswell and his wife Hulda
moved to a farm near what is now the intersection of Big Beaver and Adams Roads, and in 1823 built a log cabin to live in.
In 1832, the couple built this house to replace the log cabin.
Huldah died in 1844, and Solomon quickly remarried to Melinda Marvin.
The Caswells constructed an addition to the house in 1850;
Solomon Caswell lived in the house until his death in 1880.
After Solomon Caswell's death, his descendants continued to live in the house.
A porch was added in 1920.
Solomon Caswell's descendants occupied the house until 1965, when William Caswell, Solomon's grandson, died as a bachelor.
William Caswell willed the house and property to a friend, who sold it to North Hills Christian Reformed Church.
In 1968, the house was threatened with demolition, but the church donated the home to the Troy Historical Society, who moved to its present location and fully restored it.
The house is now part of the
Troy Museum and Historic Village.
Description
The Solomon and Hulda Caswell House is a two-story frame
Greek Revival
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...
house with
clapboard. The foundation is now built of concrete block faced with fieldstone. A -story addition is built on the rear. The front facade has a central entrance flanked with
pilasters
In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wall ...
and surmounted with a heavy entablature.
References
Further reading
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External links
Troy Historic Village
{{National Register of Historic Places
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan
Houses completed in 1832
Buildings and structures in Troy, Michigan
Michigan State Historic Sites
Houses in Oakland County, Michigan
National Register of Historic Places in Oakland County, Michigan