Historic buildings, Ann Arbor, Michigan / by Marjorie Reade and Susan Wineberg.

1709 Pontiac Trail
Circa 1834 Josiah Beckley House
Josiah Beckley and his family were members of that
intrepid group of early settlers who left New England
for the Michigan Territory
just after the opening of the
Erie Canal in 1825. Beckley
arrived in Ann Arbor in
1827 with his wife Minerva,
a son Luke and an infant
Charles. In October of that
year, he purchased 73 acres
from Isaac Hull in what was then Ann Arbor Township. According to the family's history, the house was built either in 1834 or 1836, though it could be even
older.
Josiah's large brick house has two stories and a classical center entry, and in
form resembles a New England house. It has brick end chimneys and an elaborate doorway (not original) with no portico, which is probably how it originally
looked. The current windows in the house were added in the 1980s. The black
metal stars on the exterior signal the presence of tie rods - iron rods that span
the width of the building and help hold it together.
It is not surprising that Beckley built his house of brick, for an 1835 newspaper
advertisement indicates he was in the brick business: "Brick! Brick!! Brick!!!
Brown and Co. having made an arrangement with Josiah Beckley for brick we
are prepared to supply their customers and all others who may wish, with any
quantity of the article on reasonable terms. (Signed) Ann Arbor, (on the
Huron), April 20, 1835."
Josiah Beckley died in September of 1843 at the age of 53. His wife Minerva
and their children continued to live in the house for a few more years but it
appears that the house had to be sold to payJosiah's debts. In 1847 Warren
Millard purchased the house and his descendants lived there for almost 100
years.
Today the house remians on its large lot, surrounded by mature trees and looking almost as it did when Ann Arbor was just emerging from the wilderness of
the early Michigan Territory.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^llS. 'K

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