The Philetus W. Norris House is located in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

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 ...

, near the corner of Mound Road and Davison Avenue. It was built in 1873 by

Philetus W. Norris Philetus W. Norris (August 17, 1821 – January 14, 1885) was the second superintendent of Yellowstone National Park and was the first person to be paid for that position. Early life Philetus Walter Norris was born in Palmyra (town), New York, ...

, who went on to become the second superintendent of

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...

. The house 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 1992 but was substantially destroyed by fire in 2016.

Philetus W. Norris

Philetus W. Norris was born in Palmyra,

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in 1821, the son of John Norris, Jr. and Azubah Phelps.Senator Robert P. Griffin
placed into the Congressional Record on June 26, 1972. In 1826, they bought in Michigan, moving there soon thereafter.
/ref> Norris left school early and traveled all around the midwest to trap and trade.A spirit of Detroit
Sandra Svoboda, ''Metro Times,'' May 14, 2008 He In 1838, Norris settled in northwest

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, and in 1845 he married Jane K. Cottrell. They had four children: Edward, Aurelia, Ida and Arthur. Norris fought in the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

began, served as a spy, and eventually rose to the rank of Colonel. After the Civil War, Norris moved to Michigan, where he founded the town of Norris in 1873 and ran a successful real estate and newspaper business. In 1877, Norris became the second superintendent of Yellowstone National Park, a position he held until 1882. Norris died in 1885, and is buried in Woodmere Cemetery.

Village of Norris

When Norris moved to Michigan, he managed land which belonged to officers and soldiers of both the Union and Confederate armies as part of a federal contract. In 1873, he platted the village of Norris in Wayne County at the location where his house now still stands. Norris had originally wanted to name the town "Prairie Mound," but the Detroit and Bay City Railroad (who Norris had convinced to run through the area) posted "Norris" on the depot, and the name stuck.Walter Romig
''Michigan Place Names,'' Wayne State University Press, Detroit, 1986, , p. 402. The original village boundaries were roughly Seven Mile Road on the north, Mound Road on the west, Six Mile Road on the south, and Van Dyke Road on the east.
from Detroit1701.org To ensure the success of his community, Norris drained the creek that ran through the area to open up land for farming and maintained the plank road that ran between Detroit and

Mount Clemens Mount Clemens is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 16,314 at the 2010 census. It is the seat of government of Macomb County. History Mount Clemens was first surveyed in 1795 after the American Revolutionary War by Christia ...

, operating a tollbooth located in the village. Norris also built the Two Way Inn, which was originally the village's jail and general store; Norris lived there until he built his nearby house. The Two Way Inn still stands as of 2019; other than a nearby church and the Philetus W. Norris House itself, it is the only building remaining from the original village of Norris. The village was settled primarily by German Lutherans, farmers who sold their produce to Detroit residents. By 1880, the population of Norris had grown to approximately 250 people . The village boasted, in addition to the railroad depot, a hotel, wagon shop, sawmill, multiple homes, and more.Philetus Norris House
from the city of Detroit. In 1891, the village of Norris was renamed "North Detroit." The city boundaries of Detroit gradually crept nearer, and in 1924 Detroit annexed the village. The only modern-day indication that the area was once a separate village is the "Nortown" moniker on some local businesses, evoking the old names of "Norris" and "North Detroit."

Philetus W. Norris House

The Philetus W. Norris House was built in 1873; it is a two-story late

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structure. At the time it was built, the home had gingerbread trim, brick chimneys and leafy trees in its yard. Norris moved from the Two Way Inn into this house, and also constructed a wing along one side from which he ran his real estate business. Norris moved to Yellowstone in 1877, but the Norris family owned the house until 1916, when they sold it to William Lynch. Lynch used it in part to operate a boarding house, and sold the home in 1925, when it was converted to a three-family unit. The house was owned and occupied by a series of residents, and in 1965 was converted back to a single-family residence; this may have been the time when the exterior was covered with the asphalt siding still on the house today. The home was occupied until 1991, when the last owner moved out and the property was listed as abandoned and tax delinquent. The house was placed on the

in 1992, and was designated a city of Detroit historic district in 1995. The Nortown Community Development Corporation purchased the house with plans to restore it, but in 1999 an arsonist badly damaged the property. As of 2008, the home is abandoned, although plans are still in the works to complete restoration. On July 3, 2016, the Philetus Norris House was substantially destroyed by fire, leaving only a portion standing.

References

External links

Nortown Community Development Corporation
{{National Register of Historic Places in Michigan Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan Houses in Detroit Houses completed in 1873 Burned houses in the United States National Register of Historic Places in Detroit