Ossian H. Sweet House
Encyclopedia
The Ossian H. Sweet House is a privately owned house located at 2905 Garland Street in Detroit, Michigan
. Designed by Maurice Herman Finkel
, the residence's second owner was physician Ossian Sweet
, an African-American, and the site of a confrontation in 1925 between the Sweet family and a mob attempting to force them out of the predominantly white
neighborhood. The house was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1975 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1985.
. He practiced medicine briefly in Detroit, then continued his medical studies in Vienna
and Paris
before returning to Detroit in 1924 to accept a position at Dunbar Hospital
. He began saving money for a home, and by the spring of the next year had saved $3500. Sweet used the $3500 as a down payment on a $18,500 house located on Garland Street in east Detroit.
The house is located on the corner of Garland and Charlevoix, in what was at the time an all-white neighborhood. Sweet chose a home in an all-white neighborhood because housing options in black neighborhoods were in general substandard, and he wanted better for his wife and daughter.
The neighborhood was tense, and groups of people gathered outside Sweet's home. The Detroit Police, sensing a grave situation, posted officers at the scene day and night. The following day, September 9, Sweet and his friends went to work. When they returned, the crowd had grown into a mob, throwing rocks and bottles. A Detroit News reporter, Philip A. Adler, later testified that the mob consisted of "400 and 500" people, throwing stones that hit the house "like hail." This lasted until around 10pm, when shots rang out from the second-floor window, killing one of the men in the crowd and wounding another. The police arrested all the occupants of the house, charging each with murder.
as chief counsel. He was assisted by Arthur Garfield Hays
and Walter M. Nelson. Frank Murphy
was the presiding judge. The jury consisted of twelve white men. Despite this, Darrow built an impressive case arguing self-defense, and the case ended in a hung jury. The prosecution retried a single defendant, Ossian's brother Henry, but the second trial ended in an acquittal. The verdict in this case was not guilty, and no further effort was made to prosecute Ossian Sweet or the other defendants.
After the trials, Ossian Sweet rented the home on Garland to a white couple until 1930, when he moved back into the house. However, both his wife and two-year-old daughter Iva died of tuberculosis
in 1926. Sweet remarried twice, but divorced each time. In 1946, he sold the house, moving into the flat above a pharmacy he owned. In 1960, Sweet took his own life.
A State of Michigan historical marker stands in front of the house at 2905 Garland.
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. Designed by Maurice Herman Finkel
Maurice Herman Finkel
Maurice Herman Finkel was an American architect and Yiddish theater actor. Born in Bessarabia, Russian Empire, Finkel immigrated to the United States as a child and became involved with Yiddish theater in New York City...
, the residence's second owner was physician Ossian Sweet
Ossian Sweet
Ossian Sweet was an American physician. He is most notable for his self defense in 1925 of his newly-purchased home in a predominantly white neighborhood against a mob attempting to force him out of the neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan, and the subsequent acquittal by an all-white jury of murder...
, an African-American, and the site of a confrontation in 1925 between the Sweet family and a mob attempting to force them out of the predominantly white
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
neighborhood. The house was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1975 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 1985.
Ossian Sweet
Ossian Sweet was born in Florida and received a medical degree from Howard UniversityHoward University
Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...
. He practiced medicine briefly in Detroit, then continued his medical studies in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
and Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
before returning to Detroit in 1924 to accept a position at Dunbar Hospital
Dunbar Hospital
Dunbar Hospital was the first hospital in Detroit, Michigan for the black community. It is located at 580 Frederick Street, and is currently the administrative headquarters of the Detroit Medical Society. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.- Building construction...
. He began saving money for a home, and by the spring of the next year had saved $3500. Sweet used the $3500 as a down payment on a $18,500 house located on Garland Street in east Detroit.
The Ossian Sweet House
The house Sweet purchased is a -story brick house, built in 1919, and is typical of many homes in working-class Detroit neighborhoods. It is a Bungalow-style structure with a full basement, an open porch on the first floor, and an enclosed sun porch on the south side. The second story is covered with brown shingling, and atop the house is a simple gable roof with a central dormer. The house is enclosed by an unpainted silver aluminum fence.The house is located on the corner of Garland and Charlevoix, in what was at the time an all-white neighborhood. Sweet chose a home in an all-white neighborhood because housing options in black neighborhoods were in general substandard, and he wanted better for his wife and daughter.
September 1925
Ossian Sweet and his wife, Gladys, moved into the house on September 8, 1925. A group of neighbors in the community, aware of Sweet's imminent arrival, had vowed to keep blacks out of the neighborhood, stating that they intended to maintain "the present high standards of the neighborhood." Sweet knew of the neighbors' antipathy (telling his brother that he was "prepared to die like a man"), and arranged for some friends and relatives to stay with him for a few days. He also brought along guns and ammunition.The neighborhood was tense, and groups of people gathered outside Sweet's home. The Detroit Police, sensing a grave situation, posted officers at the scene day and night. The following day, September 9, Sweet and his friends went to work. When they returned, the crowd had grown into a mob, throwing rocks and bottles. A Detroit News reporter, Philip A. Adler, later testified that the mob consisted of "400 and 500" people, throwing stones that hit the house "like hail." This lasted until around 10pm, when shots rang out from the second-floor window, killing one of the men in the crowd and wounding another. The police arrested all the occupants of the house, charging each with murder.
Aftermath
The NAACP promised to help the defense, and brought in Clarence DarrowClarence Darrow
Clarence Seward Darrow was an American lawyer and leading member of the American Civil Liberties Union, best known for defending teenage thrill killers Leopold and Loeb in their trial for murdering 14-year-old Robert "Bobby" Franks and defending John T...
as chief counsel. He was assisted by Arthur Garfield Hays
Arthur Garfield Hays
Arthur Garfield Hays was a lawyer born in Rochester, New York. His father and mother, both of German descent, belonged to prospering families in the clothing manufacturing industry...
and Walter M. Nelson. Frank Murphy
Frank Murphy
William Francis Murphy was a politician and jurist from Michigan. He served as First Assistant U.S. District Attorney, Eastern Michigan District , Recorder's Court Judge, Detroit . Mayor of Detroit , the last Governor-General of the Philippines , U.S...
was the presiding judge. The jury consisted of twelve white men. Despite this, Darrow built an impressive case arguing self-defense, and the case ended in a hung jury. The prosecution retried a single defendant, Ossian's brother Henry, but the second trial ended in an acquittal. The verdict in this case was not guilty, and no further effort was made to prosecute Ossian Sweet or the other defendants.
After the trials, Ossian Sweet rented the home on Garland to a white couple until 1930, when he moved back into the house. However, both his wife and two-year-old daughter Iva died of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
in 1926. Sweet remarried twice, but divorced each time. In 1946, he sold the house, moving into the flat above a pharmacy he owned. In 1960, Sweet took his own life.
A State of Michigan historical marker stands in front of the house at 2905 Garland.