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Homes of Chesaning V: Northside Survivors

Prior investigations have revealed that several of the homes currently standing on the East side of the river in Chesaning also appear on the 1877 map of the village, making them rare survivors from this town’s Pioneer era.  Let us now turn our attention to the West side of the river, and that section of the village that lies north of Broad Street.

320 North Front Street

320.North.Front.Street

It should come as no surprise to anyone with even a passing knowledge of local history that our first Northside survivor is the mansion built by local lumber baron, and early Chesaning pioneer, Robert H. Nason (1831-1907).

Robert was born in Northampton, England but his parents emigrated to America when he was only two years old.

Robert H. Nason

He grew up on his family’s farm near Buffalo, New York, and came to Chesaning as a farmer in October of 1852.

He also established a business buying logs and transporting them to Chesaning to be milled, and it was in the lumber industry that he would make his fortune.

In 1859 he purchased the town’s first sawmill, the one that stood on the west end of the damn, very near where his original house stood.  He ran the sawmill for a few years before selling it and buying a 1,500 acre tract of pine land five miles east of the village.

This was the start of a long series of real estate acquisitions and divestments that saw him profiting from successful lumbering operations in Albee, Chesaning, Maple Grove, and Garfield Township.

The home of Robert Nason.

The mansion was built in 1865, and remained in the Nason family for over 70 years. 

Subsequent owners appear to have made an effort to preserve as much of the home’s original character as possible, for which they should be commended.

223 North Front Street

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Just across the way from the Nason house was the home of Anthony Hotaling (1834-1920).

Anthony hailed from New York, and had arrived in Chesaning along with his wife Charlotte (1841-1899) and young son William (1864-1933) sometime around 1867.

The family later left town and moved to Corunna, around the time that William began attending school, but returned to Chesaning in 1876.

William had just begun working as a clerk in the general store belonging to L.W. Evarts, on the southwest corner of the intersection of Broad Street and Saginaw Street.

222 North Saginaw Street

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This was the home of prominent local businessman Llewellyn Homer (1850-1906).

He was born in Pennsylvania, but came to Chesaning with his father at the age of 12, his mother having died a year or two previous.  In 1864, at the age of only 14, he enlisted in Union Army and served in the 29th Volunteer Infantry Regiment for a little over a year.

After the war he spent a few years living in Pennsylvania before returning to Chesaning in 1868.  He was married to Rowena Parshall (1849-1919) in 1870, and they had one child together, a son named Harry (1880-1915).

L.L. Homer
L.L. Homer

Llewellyn would have numerous different business interests throughout the years, but during the current time frame (1877), he was the owner of a restaurant and billiard hall that was located on the north side of Broad Street, near the Front Street intersection.

214 Pine Street

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This home belonged to Joseph J. Austin (1829-1886).

Joseph was born in Massachusetts, but by the early 1860s had moved to Owosso, where he made his living as a tinsmith.  He arrived in Chesaning sometime towards the end of the Civil War, and started the first hardware store in the village.

His wife Malinda Austin, née Snyder (1836-1927), served as a local millinery

Local notable John Griswold (1809-1886) purchased an interest in Joseph’s hardware store in 1872, and the pair ran the store together for many years, until Joseph and his family departed for Colorado sometime around 1879.

Joseph was also active in local politics, and served a term as village president.

126 North Chapman Street

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This home was occupied by the family of Oliver F. Walker (1832-1909).

Oliver was born into a farm family who were living in rural New York, and started to learn the carpenter’s trade from an early age.

He first came to Chesaning as far back as 1851, although for several years he continued to travel about in search of work, and also spent some time living in Flint.  He also visited Barry County, where he was married to his first wife, Cordelia Mudge (1838-1864).

He appears to have been living in Chesaning on a permanent basis by the early 1860s, and was responsible for building several local residences that were constructed during this period, including his own.

Oliver Walker
Oliver Walker

He practiced his trade as a carpenter and builder for many years, until in 1869 he opened his own furniture store.  This store was located at the corner of Broad Street and Chapman Street, adjacent to his home, and I suspect that both buildings date to around the same time.

There were no funeral homes at this time, and since local carpenters were tasked with the building of caskets for the dead, they also usually served in the role of undertaker.  This was the case with Oliver Walker, and the family would remain in the funerary business for three generations, until Oliver’s grandson Frank Walker (1884-1975) retired in 1959.

224 Lincoln Street

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The owner of this home was listed as Robert H. Nason (see above), so this must have been used as a rental property.  It is not known who was living here in the year 1877.

502 Pine Street

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I am not certain whether this home is a genuine survivor.

The main, two-story section of the home certainly dates from later, but the single-story portion of the home, the one that is nearest to Line Street, may date back to 1877.

If so, then this would have been the residence of William Dredge (1841-1914), who owned the harness shop that once stood only a block away, on Broad Street.

William Dredge

William was born in Simcoe, Ontario, but later moved to nearby London, where he opened that town’s first harness shop. He also opened the first harness shop in Chesaning upon his arrival here in 1865.

He was elected justice of the peace in 1872, and continued to serve in that office for many years. He also had a small law practice, was a notary public, and also operated an insurance agency.

It’s surprising that such an eminent citizen would be living in such a small house, but this may be due to the fact that his marriage to Annie Dredge, née Dodge (1840-1909), appears to have produced no children, making a large home unnecessary.

508 Pine Street

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The map has this home belonging to one S. Dyer. 

This might be Sylvester Dyer (1844-1903), a veteran of the Union Army who settled here after the war.  Sylvester was living with his family out on his farm, so the house may have belonged to another S. Dyer, or served as a rental property.

It’s also possible that the tenant may have been Sylvester’s father, Edward S. Dyer (1816-1900), who is known to have been living in the village around this time.

Edward was born in Syracuse, New York and came to Michigan as a young man.  He was married to Jane Stilson (1817-1857) in 1843, and the couple had two children together, Sylvester and Adelaide, before Jane’s untimely passing in 1857.

The following year he was married to the much younger Ann Brown (1841-1900), of Ypsilanti, and the couple went on to have four children together.

Edward arrived in Chesaning around the year 1863, and made his living here as a cooper (or barrel maker).

1137 Brady Street

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This home belonged to William H. Hayne (1848-1879).

William was the son of Edward Hayne (1816-1885), who first arrived in Northampton (i.e. Chesaning) from Canada in the mid-1850s, and had opened the town’s first shoe store.  William had assisted his father in the family business as a child, and eventually became a full partner beginning in 1874-1875.

The firm of Hayne & Son owned a large shoe store on the north side of Broad Street, near the Saginaw Street intersection.

William was married to Effie Bentley (1848-1905), the daughter of grocery store owner Henry Bentley, and the couple had one child together, Emma Hayne (1873-1901).

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PrevPreviousHomes of Chesaning IV: The Shanty
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One Response

  1. Deborah says:
    February 12, 2023 at 2:09 am

    My parents lived in the home at 508 Pine. According to the deed it was built before Custard’s last stand 1876. I don’t remember the exact date but it was built a few years before then. It had a dirt basement at one time.

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