The Frank Murphy Birthplace, located at 142 S. Huron St. in Harbor Beach,

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, is the birthplace of

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

justice and

Michigan governor The governor of Michigan, is the head of government of Michigan and serves as the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws; the power to either approve or veto appropriation bills passed b ...

Frank Murphy William Francis Murphy (April 13, 1890July 19, 1949) was an American politician, lawyer and jurist from Michigan. He was a Democrat who was named to the Supreme Court of the United States in 1940 after a political career that included serving ...

. The house was added to 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 ...

on September 22, 1971. The City of Harbor Beach operates the Frank Murphy Memorial Museum in the home.

History

The Frank Murphy Birthplace house was built in the 1870s. The house was later owned by John F. Murphy, Frank's father, who used one wing of it as a law office. Frank Murphy was born in the home on April 13, 1890. The family later moved into a larger house next door, which is also part of the Frank Murphy Memorial Museum. The Murphy family owned both houses until 1994, when the state of Michigan and the city of Harbor Beach put up money to purchase the property. The city obtained full ownership, and opened up the house as a museum. The museum is open for tours from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

Description

The house is a 1 ½-story frame building with

clapboard Clapboard (), also called bevel siding, lap siding, and weatherboard, with regional variation in the definition of these terms, is wooden siding of a building in the form of horizontal boards, often overlapping. ''Clapboard'' in modern Americ ...

siding and a

gable roof A gable roof is a roof consisting of two sections whose upper horizontal edges meet to form its ridge. The most common roof shape in cold or temperate climates, it is constructed of rafters, roof trusses or purlins. The pitch of a gable roof ca ...

. The upper windows are double-hung, six-over-six units. A small, single-story wing is attached to the side, which was used as a law office by John F. Murphy, Frank's father. The interior has a simple four-room layout, and contains a number of furnishings originally owned by the Murphy family.

References

External links

Museums
- City of Harbor Beach Parks and Recreation Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan Houses in Huron County, Michigan Historic house museums in Michigan Museums in Huron County, Michigan Murphy, Frank National Register of Historic Places in Huron County, Michigan {{Michigan-museum-stub