Author: Your Tour Guide

372 North Main Street

1873 – Italianate

MarveI Brabb, (1847·1926) a native of Bruce Township, established “an enviable reputation in banking circles” as director and later president of the First National Bank of Romeo. His elaborate Italianate residence built by R. F. Odion in 1873 and his extensive gardens and fountains to the south (now destroyed) made the Brabb residence a “showplace” in Romeo for over a generation. Mr. Brabb and family moved to Detroit in 1903 and the home was eventually sold to William Rumsey owner of a “shoddy” (fabric made of reclaimed materials) mill in town.

298 North Main Street

c. 1874 – Victorian Gothic

Victorian Gothic in style, this residence contains one of the finest Victorian front doors in the village. “An elegant piece of workmanship ” pronounced The Romeo Observer in November, 1874. It was manufactured by the Kennedy and Waycott Mill in Romeo. James Frost, the original owner of the residence, was a merchant in partnership with William Flumerfelt for a few years and after 1880 became an agent for a Lansing Carriage firm.

280 North Main Street

c. 1871 – Victorian Gothic

The Methodists held their first meeting “at the house of Albert Finch” in the fall of 1824, making them the oldest re­ligious group in Romeo. A Greek Revival building was completed by 1840 and in 1871 due to over­ crowded conditions the congregation accepted plans for a new church with John C. Kaumeier of Adrian, Michigan as builder. The bricks were made by Albert Hovey of Bruce Township, the furniture in the Sunday School rooms by Rattenbury & Co. of Romeo, the elaborately carved pews (now removed) were made by Kaumeier’s firm in Adrian, and the $2,750 organ was produced by the Marshall Brothers of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Costing $42,000 in all, the church was dedicated June 8, 1874 and the old structure was relocated at the four corners as a furniture store for a number of years. Victorian Gothic in design, the new church boasted an extremely impressive spire and a series of lovely stained glass windows. The spire was destroyed during a windstorm in the 1930s and several other minor alterations have occurred to the exterior since that time. An addition for offices and classrooms were added to the north side of the building in the early 2000s.

264 North Main Street

c. 1849 – Gothic Revival

Dr. Watson Loud (1806-1895) a native of West Hampton, Massachusetts and a graduate of Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, settled in Romeo in 1846 where he practiced medicine for six years before joining B. Newbury in a dry goods business. On De­cember 21, 1848 Loud purchased a sizeable lot for $600 and presumably erected his Gothic residence the following spring. It reflected the new interest in “natural architecture” and introduced to Romeo board and batten siding, Gothic arcades, bay windows, and extensive verandas. James C. Ford (1851-1916) a Romeo clothing merchant and Dr. Loud’s son-in-law, acquired the residence in 1895. Dr. Loud’s board and batten carriage bam still stands on the lot to the south.

246 North Bailey Street

c. 1868 – Late Greek Revival (with Queen Anne Porch)

141 Dickenson Street

c. 1865 – Italianate

300 North Bailey Street

c. 1869 – Late Greek Revival

Captain Milton Thompson built this late Greek Revival residence in 1869 at a cost of $2,000. Thompson owned a wagon shop and an interest in a blacksmith and foundry. In March, 1873, the home was sold to Tsaac Jud­ son for $3,000. In January of 1884, Wallace West· brook acquired the residence for $1,650.

338 North Bailey Street

c. 1904 – Colonial Revival

372 North Bailey Street

c. 1836 – Early Greek Revival

Samuel Ewell (1779-1842) a native of Norwich, Massachusetts arrived in Romeo in the spring of 1836 and constructed this Greek Revival residence soon after. Ewelrs son Samuel Holbrook Ewell (1819-1907) poet, editor of the Romeo Argus, 1861·62, and later of The Romeo Observer, 1869-1874, and part-time his· torian, noted in his sketch of Romeo that a single lane which is now Bailey Street led up to the Ewell residence in 1837. This is probably the oldest residence in the village of Romeo today.