The Saline Reporter
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Old home built by Davenport family
Robert Lane
PUBLISHED: March 13, 2008
Q: What is the story on that beautiful, old, green home with all the land around it on Michigan Avenue and Old Creek? When I worked at the Cadillac plant in Detroit, I would often get asked that question when I told my coworkers I lived in Saline. I would try to tell what I knew. Now there are people new to Saline who may be asking that question.
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A: This story, the first of two parts, is an attempt to provide history on who built and lived in that house.
The house was built by William H. Davenport. He was born Oct. 23, 1826, in Batavia, N.Y. He immigrated to Saline with his parents, Beverly and Gertrude, in about 1827. William attended Saline's first one-room log cabin schoolhouse (his name shows up as a student in the 1830s).
In the 1840s, he secured a position with Caleb Van Husen as a clerk. He continued as a clerk until 1851, when commenced business for himself in a store where the Burkhart building is today -- next to the Brecon Grille. Soon after he formed a partnership with Henry J. Miller and after they separated, he started his own business.
For many years, he conducted a successful mercantile trade, buying and shipping large quantities of wool and dressed pork. In 1863, he erected a three-story brick building at the northwest corner of Michigan Avenue and Ann Arbor Street, which he occupied as a place of business until he died Sept. 3, 1909.
On Nov. 6, 1851, he was married to Zylpha P. Parsons, and their union was most pleasant and happy. They had three children, but only one, a son, Beverly P., survived at the time of his death
After the Civil War, he became a leader in Saline's attempt to get a railroad. This led to his becoming a board member of the Detroit, Hillsdale and Indiana Railroad. The citizens of Saline raised $75,000 to get the railroad into Saline and on July 4, 1870, the first train arrived.
Sensing great economic opportunities in Saline, William formed his first bank. He placed this ad in The Ypsilanti Commercial in 1871:
"W. H. Davenport & Co Bankers; Saline, Mich. We buy and sell Government securities, Gold Coin, Drafts on Detroit, New York, Boston, and other cities. Also receive money on deposit, make collections and attend promptly to all business pertaining to banking. Money loaned to approved securities."
This certainly sounds like a bank. But in 1874, during the financial panic of 1873, he apparently lost control of the bank or it went bankrupt. And to pay off debts, he was also forced to sell his brick house east of Saline on Michigan Avenue.
William prospered after the depression, and with prosperity he decided to build a new house. His son, Beverly, had built the mansion on East Henry Street for his new bride in 1874 and William decided to place his home across from Beverly's. In 1875, he hired William Scott, an architect from Detroit and the house was built for about $8,500. (To be continued)
Robert Lane, a member of the Saline Area Historical Society, can be reached at salinehistory@yahoo.com.
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