Military Road Historic District

About this property

The Military Road Historic District is a commercial historic district located along Military Street and Huron Avenue, from Court Street to Bard Street, in Port Huron, Michigan. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. The area around modern Port Huron was sparsely settled until 1814, when Fort Gratiot was constructed. Nearby land was platted and sold. In 1821, an inn was opened along what is now Quay Street, and in 1825, James Cook opened a store on the north bank of the Black River. A second store joined it in 1827, and by 1830 a small settlement was in place in and around the current district. Real development started in 1833, when the Black River Steam Saw Mill Company opened, and the Fort Gratiot Military Road was completed, connecting Fort Gratiot to Detroit. Along with the Military Road completion, the first bridge across the Black River was constructed. The 1830s saw a quick jump in land prices around Port Huron, as well as a substantial influx of new residents. By 1840, Port Huron had over 1000 citizens. It was organized into a village in 1849, and into a city in 1857, and by 1864, over 4000 people lived in Port Huron, with the increase in economic development led primarily by the lumber trade. During this span, the first of the commercial buildings were constructed in the district. These buildings were typically simply constructed, wood frame buildings of one or two stories, many of which were replaced with more permanent brick structures as finances permitted. However, one of these early frame structures, dating from the 1840s or 1850s, still survives at 405 Quay Street. By 1870, the lumber business went into a decline, but the rise of manufacturing and tourism in Port Huron led to a stable and diversified economy. Now was the time that merchants built more substantial brick buildings, many with architectural significance. Among the first of these was the 1864 Dowling Block, located at 106-108 Huron, which is the oldest known brick building in the city. By 1900, the population had risen to over 19,000 people, and a number of substantial buildings had been constructed throughout the downtown area. In the twentieth century, the rise of the automobile changed both tourism and the commercial landscape. Some significant buildings were constructed in the Port Huron downtown, for example as a result of the St. Clair Hotel fire of 1903. In addition, several former stables were repurposed. Port Huron's commercial sector thrived at first, but after World War II, much of the new development began taking place outside of the downtown area. A particular exception was the 1959/60 McMorran Memorial Auditorium, designed by Alden Dow. Urban renewal in the 1970s caused a substantial section of the downtown to be razed and replaced with modern structures. Although this resulted in the loss of a sizable number of historic buildings, the renewal also made the waterfront more accessible, boosting tourism, and eliminated some of the excess building stock, making the remainder of the downtown more viable.

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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.

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