Walking Tour-29 East Washington Street-Walking Tour
(North Side of Street)

One of Clarkston's early settlers, Arthur Davis owned this lot and the one to the east in 1846. According to the 1817-1877 History of Oakland County, Arthur had the first iron foundry in the Village in 1845. The tax records of 1846 cited an assessed value high enough to indicate commercial activity and the existence of a building or buildings on this site by then. The conclusion of this researcher is that this was the site of the foundry which used water from Park Lake for power. 1849 tax records listed the property under the names Clark and Davis. (They were also listed for a piece of property of the "northeast corner of the Mill Lot" or a piece on the south side on West Washington Street west of what is now an alley.) John Davis , Arthur's brother took over the foundry five years later. John Davis continued to own the north part of the property to the Lake until 1861 when it became the property of Jesse Millard.

The 1855 tax records specifically listed a barn & shop on the south part of the property, owner Enos Church, who added a furnace to the mix. He moved the "furnace" to the southwest corner of South Main Street and Depot Road in 1860. The 1872 Map of the Village shows the foot print of a large square building, labeled "barn", on the site. Until the turn of the Twentieth Century the property was still divided between various owners. An item in the 12/01/1904 Oakland Count Post, "Hugh Green is moving from the barn which he formerly used at the corner of Wahington and Buffalo avenues to the one back of his residence on Holcomb street. Will Richardson of Pontiac it is reported will start a new livery stable in the one vacated." Later that year an item related "Clarkston's new livery barn has opened in Mrs. Scadding's barn, corner of Washington and Buffalo, with Will Richardson, a proprietor. (He is ) moving his family in the B. J. Abbey house on Main street."

The original section of the house which stands on the lot now was built in 1925 in a cottage bungalow style with simple Doric column front porch supports originally. (A book of house plans available at that time, Houses by Mail, has a drawing of a house of similar style, The Ashland, page 140.) The house has seen several changes in the last forty years. The porch supports were recently added to simulate the originals which had been replaced with wrought iron. An attached garage was added about 1970. A major addition was constructed to the rear and the west of the house about 1985. Aluminum siding covers the original wood clapboard.

Official Property Description:

• Lot 5 Block 20 of Nelson W. Clark's Original Plat of the Village in the Southeast 1/4 of Section 20 in Independence Township
• Lot 61 in 1928
• Lot 1 & Vacated Buffalo Street of the Assessor's Plat.

Significant Property History:

[A Synopsis Of Property Transfers Derived From Abstracts
(when available) And Periodic Changes In Ownership Or
Assessed Value Derived From Township Tax Records]

• Note: All the properties currently located in the Historic District were originally part of a tract registered by Butler Holcomb with the federal government on October 22, 1831. Thus, abstracts for these properties, when they exist, show the original transfer to be from the United States to Butler Holcomb and may also include references to then President Andrew Jackson.
• 1832 Butler Holcomb, the Northeast 1/4 , the Southeast 1/4, the east 1/2 of the Northwest 1/4 and the east 1/2 of the Southwest 1/4 of Section 20.
• 1833 Butler & Mary L. Holcomb to Roswell/Roosevelt, the west 1/2 of the Northeast 1/4 and the west 1/2 of the Southeast 1/4 of Section 20..
• 1835 Butler Holcomb to Jeremiah Clark, the south part of the west 1/2 of the Southeast 1/4 of Section.
• 1839 Jeremiah Clark to Nelson W. Clark, one equal undivided half of the west 1/2 of the Southeast 1/4 of Section. 20.
• 1842 Original Plat of the Village.
• 1844 Nelson W. Clark, Block 20 of the Original Plat of the Village, assessed value $10.
• 1846 Arthur Davis, Lots 4 & 5 Block 20, assessed value $115, and the west 1/2 of Lot 3, assessed value $5.
• 1847 Arthur Davis, Lots 2, 3, 4 & 5, Block "2" ( 20 ), "occupied together", assessed value $190.
• 1849 Clark & Davis, the west 1/2 of Lot 3 & Lots 4 & 5 Block 20, "occupied together, assessed value $218, and the northeast corner of the Mill Lot, assessed value $93.
• 1850 John Davis, Lots 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 of Lot 1 Block 20.
• 1855 Enos Church, the south part of Lots 4 & 5 & part of Lot 3, assessed value $700."barn & shop". John Davis the north part of Lots 4 & 5.
• 1857 Enos Church, the south 1/2 of Lots 4 & 5 & the west 1/2 of Lot 3 Block 20, assessed value $675. " occupied together for a furnace ".
• 1860 Enos Church as above. "furnace moved part of building"
  John Davis as above.
• 1861 Mortimer J. Clark, 36' x 45', west by Buffalo, east by Nelson & G. Vliet, north by J. Davis. "Blacksmith shop".
  John Davis, as above.
• 1865 M. J. Clark, as above, assessed value $150.
  Jesse Millard, the north part of Lots 4 & 5.
  Elizabeth Vliet has Nelson & G. Vliet's 58' x 70' which is north by Clark, north & east by Millard.
• 1867 G. W. Howe, north by Millard, east by E. Vliet, west by the Street (Buffalo St.), assessed value $500.
• 1869 W.H. Smith, 58' x 40', "barn", & D. Scadding.
  J. Millard, the north part of Lots 4 & 5.
• 1872 Map of the Village has a building footprint on the southwest corner of Lot 5, labeled stable.
• 1876 J. Millard, estate.
  Scadding
  Smith.
• 1880 O. L. Knapp,north by the Lake, west by the Street & Scadding, south by the Street, east by Jackson.
  D. Scadding.
• 1881 Millard, estate.
  Scadding, assessed value $300.
• 1896 Daniel Scadding..
• 1899 Mrs. Margaret Scadding, assessed value $250.
• 1909 Hugh Green, north to the Lake, west & south by the Street, east by B. Tiffany.
• 1914 Ben Miller, north to the Lake, west & south by the Street, east by A. Hazeltine, assessed value $400.
• 1915 as above, assessed value $900.
• 1920 Lee Clark, the west part of .., assessed value $500.
• 1923 as above.
• 1924 As above, assessed value $600.
• 1925 Lee Clark, 56' east & west from the Street to the Lake, assessed value $500.
• 1926 John Nelsey, assessed value $2600.
• 1927 as above.
• 1928 George & Lena Nelsey, 52', Lot 61, assessed value $2500.
• 1933 George & Lena Nelsey, as above, assessed value $1800.
• 1935 George & Lena Nelsey, the west 56' of Lot 5.
• 1941 C. Granger, Lot 1, assessed value $1600.
• 1948 Walter Ash, Lot 1, assessed value $2000.
• 1950 as above.