The Nathaniel S. Wheeler House is a private residence located at 7075 M-50 (known locally as West Monroe Street) just north of the village of

Onsted Onsted is a village within Lenawee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The village had a population of 917 at the 2010 census. Located within the Irish Hills region, the village is part of Cambridge Township. Onsted was first settled in 18 ...

in rural Cambridge Township in Lenawee County, Michigan. It was designated as a

Michigan Historic Site The Michigan State Historic Preservation Office is one of 59 state historic preservation offices established according to the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 that plays a role in implementing federal historic preservation policy in t ...

on July 26, 1974, and later added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 24, 1975.

History

Nathaniel Wheeler was born in

Amenia, New York Amenia is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 4,436 at the 2010 census. The town is on the eastern border of the county. History Amenia is one of the original towns formed by act of March 7, 1788. It compris ...

in 1808. In 1833, he moved to Michigan with his parents and settled on this land, one of the township's first settlers. It is uncertain when this house was built, but it was approximately 1845. Wheeler married Nancy A. Russ in 1855; the couple had four children. Wheeler and his family sold the farm in 1869 and resettled elsewhere in the county. The house has since gone through a series of owners. These include Alba Chase, who owned the farm from 1893 to 1921. Chase's daughter Ethel May married Clare Dowling, who owned the house and land until 1972. The house passed through a number of owners in the 1970s, and was restored. It remains privately owned.

Description

The house is a

cobblestone Cobblestone is a natural building material based on cobble-sized stones, and is used for pavement roads, streets, and buildings. Setts, also called Belgian blocks, are often casually referred to as "cobbles", although a sett is distinct fro ...

-story Greek Revival structure with a perpendicular -story wing. It has both a front and rear porch. The walls are 16" thick and constructed to neatly coursed multi-colored cobblestones. Stone quins are as the corners, and it sits on a rubble foundation with a limestone water table. The gables are wooden with corner returns. There are sixteen double-hing windows with stone lintels and sills. The front door is framed by fluted pilasters and topped with a transom window. Doric columns surround the door. The house was once attached to a much larger 500-acre (202 ha) farm.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places Houses in Lenawee County, Michigan Greek Revival houses in Michigan Houses completed in 1845 Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan Michigan State Historic Sites in Lenawee County National Register of Historic Places in Lenawee County, Michigan