Maple Street Historic District
About this property
The Maple Street Historic District is a residential historic district located at 161-342 Capital Avenue NE in Battle Creek, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. In 1835, Jonathan Hart and Joseph, Abraham, and Isaac Merritt purchased this site to establish a farm. In 1836 they platted what is now the heart of Battle Creek. As the settlement grew, Hart and the Merritts platted more of their property; in all of these plats, the lots fronting on Maple were unusually wide and deep. Beginning in the 1840s, Battle Creeks most distinguished residents built houses along Maple. These began with Jonathan Hart's own house, constructed in 1846, and Charles Merritt's, dating from the 1850s. By 1873, many of these lots had been filled. However, the area retained its cachet as a fashionable area to live, and over the next four decades many of these houses were expanded, substantially remodeled, or replaced, such that only three of the houses extant in 1873 are still in place in a recognizable form. Residents of the Maple Street Historic District included not only Merritt and Hart, but more of the Merritt family and other leading Battle Creek citizens of the late 19th and early 20th century. These include dry-goods merchant Benjamin F. Hinman, theatre owner Col. Walter Scott Butterfield, manufacturers Brainard Skinner, John Nichols, Irving L. Stone, and George Rich, as well as C. W. Post's daughter Marjorie Merriweather Post. The Maple Street Historic District contains 46 residential buildings, of which 38 contribute to the historic character of the neighborhood. Of these, 24 are houses, twelve are associated garages or carriage houses, and two are churches. These houses are primarily substantial structures built on large city lots, and date from a late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Architectural styles are predominantly Italianate, Queen Anne, and Neoclassical, with a few Greek Revival, Colonial Revival, and Arts-and-Crafts inspired houses mixed in. Some of the houses have associated carriage houses or garages in the rear. The streets of the district are lined with old trees, primarily maple.
Location
Categories
Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about Maple Street Historic District
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Questions about this property
When was Maple Street Historic District listed on the National Register?
Maple Street Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 24, 1996.
What type of historic resource is Maple Street Historic District?
Maple Street Historic District is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Maple Street Historic District?
The period of significance for Maple Street Historic District is recorded as the listed era.
Can I research the history near Maple Street Historic District?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Maple Street Historic District will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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An Aubrey US report for an address near Maple Street Historic District will include this listing alongside battlefield records and other historical sources within your chosen radius.