The Governor's Mansion at 621 S. Marshall Ave. in

Marshall, Michigan Marshall is a city and the county seat of Calhoun County, Michigan. The population was 6,822 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Marshall is best known for its cross-section of 19th- and early 20th-century architecture and as the futu ...

is a historic house built in 1839 with elements of

Greek Revival architecture Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

. It is also known as Governor's Mansion Museum. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1975. In 2017, the house is a museum owned and operated by the Mary Marshall Chapter of

Daughters of the American Revolution The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (often abbreviated as DAR or NSDAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a patriot of the American Revolutionary War. A non-p ...

History

In 1839, Marshall citizen

James Wright Gordon James Wright Gordon (1809 – December 1853), usually referred to as J. Wright Gordon, was a United States Whig Party, Whig politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. Life and politics in Michigan Gordon was born in Plainfield, Connecticu ...

, recently elected to the state senate, began agitating for Marshall to be designated as the state capital. In expectation, Gordon purchased land across from where the Capitol was proposed to be built and constructed this house. It has been referred to as the "Governor's Mansion" since its construction. (excerpted from "A History of Marshall") Gordon became lieutenant governor, and then acting governor of Michigan in 1841. However,

Lansing Lansing () is the capital city of the U.S. state of Michigan. The most populous city in Ingham County, parts of the city extend into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. It is the sixth-most populous city in Michigan with a popul ...

was chosen as the new state capital in 1847, dashing Marshall's hopes. Gordon was later appointed to the consular service in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military officer and politician who was the 12th president of the United States, serving from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States ...

, and died there in 1853. Gordon's widow owned of the house until 1882, when it was purchased by Mrs. Flory Palmer, a local resident. She and her daughter, Bertha Palmer Brady, lived in the house for many years. In 1967, the Brady heirs donated the property to the local Mary Marshall Chapter of the

. The chapter converted the house into their meeting hall and as a museum.

Description

The "Governor's Mansion" in Marshall is a two-story white frame

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

building built in a side-hall plan. It has a single-story rear addition. The main section of the house has clapboard siding on the sides and horizontal plank siding on the front. In the front is a wide Doric portico with a Greek entablature above. Under the portico are two vertically elongated sash windows, and a front entrance framed by pilasters decorated with carved acanthus leaves. A dentiled cornice runs across the main portion of the house.

References

External links

Marshall's Governor's Mansion Museum
- Facebook site
Governor's Mansion
- visiting information
Governor's Mansion Museum
- History {{Michigan Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan Houses completed in 1839 Museums in Calhoun County, Michigan Historic house museums in Michigan Greek Revival houses in Michigan Houses in Calhoun County, Michigan National Register of Historic Places in Calhoun County, Michigan 1839 establishments in Michigan Daughters of the American Revolution museums Governor of Michigan

History

Description

See also

References

External links