Sale and Demolition of Plymouth's Kellogg House Sparks Outcry

PLYMOUTH, MI — A torn-apart house is tearing apart the community of Plymouth. On one side, preservationists. On the other, the property owners.

The brouhaha centers around the Cassius Kellogg House, a 155-year-old Plymouth landmark. The house was built in 1861 by Cassius Kellogg, son of John Kellogg. Kellogg was a "Plymouth pioneer" and his family donated a lot of the land in present-day Plymouth, including Kellogg Park.

Roger Anderson, the former owner of the house, put the property on the market, and it was purchased by Matt Thurber, a Plymouth resident and the owner of Evergreen Development.

Last month, the Kellogg House was demolished. The property, located at 1107 West Ann Arbor Trail, was fair game to be sold and obliterated, as it wasn't located inside the city's historic district and thereby had no historical protection.

Town preservationists were gutted. In a statement to Patch, Wendy Harless, the Chairperson of Plymouth Preservationist Network said of the house:

"It was there for 155 years. So everyone walked past it or drove past it several times a day. Everyone was familiar with this house, even if they didn't know the history or connection to Kellogg Park and one of Plymouth's founding families. One of the big reasons that people move here is for that small town, historic, quaint feeling. We are in danger of losing that, and once it is gone, you can't get it back. It has been my experience that anytime you try to re-create historic buildings it starts to look like an amusement park. The majority of historic buildings in Plymouth currently have no protection. To prevent the further loss of Plymouth's historic homes and character the residents must demand that the city expand the historic district."

But the people with contractual ties to the Kellogg house, the seller and buyer, point out that while they loved the Kellogg House, it was in reality not viable to preserve.

Anderson, the former Kellogg House owner, posted a statement online, stating "Yes, the facade of the house still looked great from the street in 2016. But that's only because we put our heart, soul, and much of our disposable capital into it for nearly forty years...'Drive by commentators' who now glorify the old structure would ever have lived with it's many limitations, very high expenses, and many inconveniences. Yes, the house was certainly an endearing reminder of the 'old Plymouth.' But in the end, no one was interested in making any real sacrifices to keep it standing..... the 'For Sale' sign was on the front lawn for a full year and a half!"

Thurber, the new owner, agrees. He told Patch "When I talked to the sellers, they had three or four other people interested and they all found it was not viable to rebuild. When I got involved I thought the same thing."

As for his plans for the property, he told Patch "I'm game-planning now. A lot of my buyers are from the suburbs and they love the walkability in Plymouth they didn't have in suburbia. I live in Plymouth. I love the downtown and the fact that people that live there want to be a part of a community."

Photo courtesy of the Plymouth Preservation Network