The John Chambers House is an originally residential building located at 90 North State Street in

St. Ignace, Michigan St. Ignace is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Mackinac County. The city had a population of 2,452 at the 2010 census. St. Ignace Township is located just to the north of the city, but the two are administered autono ...

. The house is currently operated as the Colonial House Inn. It was 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 1982.

History

John Chambers Sr. was born in Ireland in 1801,Charles Moore
''History of Michigan, Volume 4,'' The Lewis Publishing co., 1915, pp. 2013-2015. and emigrated from Ireland to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

in 1846.Chambers, John, House
from the state of Michigan, retrieved 1/25/10 He moved from Philadelphia to Illinois, and then in 1849 to

Mackinac Island Mackinac Island ( ; french: Île Mackinac; oj, Mishimikinaak ᒥᔑᒥᑭᓈᒃ; otw, Michilimackinac) is an island and resort area, covering in land area, in the U.S. state of Michigan. The name of the island in Odawa is Michilimackinac an ...

where he was joined by his wife and children. Chambers supported himself by fishing and farming, reclaiming a farm near Castle Rock, and eventually increased his wealth to a comfortable level. In 1870 the family moved to St. Ignace, where Chambers built a two-story house on State Street. John Chambers Sr. died in 1890 in St. Ignace.Lewis Publishing Company
''Memorial record of the Northern Peninsula of Michigan,'' 1895, pp. 511-513 John Chambers had eight children; three of his sons, John Jr., Michael, and Patrick, opened a prosperous general store in St. Ignace in 1870 under the name "Chambers Brothers." The three pooled their money and invested heavily in local real estate, including the first dock built in the city. John Jr. died in 1891, but the other two Chambers continued a prosperous business, opening branch stores in other towns. Michael Chambers, born in 1850, was particularly prominent. He served in 1889–90 in the Michigan House of Representatives two terms as mayor of St. Ignace in 1890 and 1891.
''St. Ignace News'' He also served on the board of

Michigan Technological University Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech, MTU, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Houghton, Michigan, founded in 1885 as the Michigan Mining School, the first post-secondary institution in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. ...

, then the Michigan School of Mines. Patrick Chambers also entered politics at a local level, serving as Supervisor of Ignace Township and County Treasurer in the 1870s and 80s. In 1910, Michael and Patrick built a Colonial Revival front section onto their family home. Patrick died in 1916 and Michael in 1918;''The Northwestern reporter, Volume 173,''
1919, pp. 367-370 the house stayed in the family until 1945, when it was sold to a retired ship captain, who used it as an inn from 1947 to 1978. The inn was renovated in 1978–1981, and reopened that year. As of 2010, the house is used as the Colonial House Inn.

Description

The older section of the Chambers House is located in the rear; it is a two-story, hipped-roof structure sitting on a rubble foundation. The front addition is three stories, covered with yellow fish-scale shingles and clapboards. A two-story entrance

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

is supported by Doric columns.

References

External links

Colonial House Inn
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chambers, John, House Houses in Mackinac County, Michigan Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan Colonial Revival architecture in Michigan Houses completed in 1870 Hotels in Michigan National Register of Historic Places in Mackinac County, Michigan