The Ford-Bacon House is located at 45 Vinewood in Wyandotte, Michigan

Wyandotte, Michigan

Wyandotte is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 25,883 at the 2010 census, a decrease of 7.6% from 2000. Wyandotte is located in southeastern Michigan, approximately south of Detroit on the Detroit River, and is part of the collection of communities known as...

. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1987 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 in 1997. It is now used as the Bacon Memorial District Library.

History

Edward Ford (also the builder of the George P. MacNichol House

George P. MacNichol House

The George P. MacNichol House, also known as the Ford-MacNichol House, is a house located at 2610 Biddle Avenue in Wyandotte, Michigan. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1973 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.The house is currently used as the main...

 across the street) was the son of plate glass pioneer John Baptiste Ford

John Baptiste Ford

Captain John Baptiste Ford was an American industrialist and founder of the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company, now known as PPG Industries, based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....

 and the founder of the Michigan Alkalai Company in Wyandotte and the Ford Plate Glass Company in Toledo, Ohio

Toledo, Ohio

Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...

, (later the Libbey–Owens–Ford Company). In 1897, Ford hired Malcomson & Higginbotham to design this house for himself and his wife Carrie. Ford lived in the house only a short time before moving to Toledo, Ohio

Toledo, Ohio

Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...

 in 1900. Ford's son, John B Ford, occupied the house from 1900-1902, and in 1902, Edward Ford's daughter Mary Ford Bacon and her husband Mark R. Bacon

Mark R. Bacon

Mark Reeves Bacon was a lawyer and politician from the U.S. state of Michigan.Bacon was born in Phillipstown, Illinois and attended the public schools there. He taught school at the Academy in Bolivar, Missouri in 1871. He studied law, was admitted to the bar on July 4, 1876, and commenced...

 moved in. The couple lived here from 1902-1942, although they spent a considerable amount of their later years in California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. When Mark Bacon died in 1942, Mary gave the house to the Wyandotte Public School System. The building now serves as the public library.

Description

The Ford-Bacon House is a three-story Queen Anne house built from buff-colored brick with red sandstone trim. The house measures 62 feet by 95 feet, sits on four city lots, and contains 27 rooms and 11 fireplaces. A wide porch extends along the front and side of the house, and the hipped roof was originally covered with black slate. A three-story bell tower is located in the rear, and the house features gabled dormers, a two-story side bay, and square brick chimneys.

External links

• Bacon Memorial District Library - includes online tour