Edwin Phelps House

This Italianate Victorian brick residence was part of the Phelps family farmstead in Pontiac Township (now Auburn Hills, Michigan). Elnathan Phelps purchased the property and later sold it to his son, Edwin, who continued to farm it and passed the operation on to his own son, Edwin Jr. Edwin Phelps ran an award-winning cattle operation on the property, which he called Maple Place Farm. Today, the former Phelps farmhouse is a part of the Havenwyck Hospital campus.

Pioneer Pontiac Township settler Elnathan Phelps purchased this property in the northwest quarter of Section 23 in July 1833. He farmed the property with the help of his son, Edwin. In 1850, Edwin Phelps traveled to California to participate in the gold rush there and returned home to Pontiac Township two years later with enough money to purchase his father's farmstead. The Phelps farm was well-known for its cattle operation under Edwin Phelps' stewardship, and was named Maple Place Farm. Phelps was active in agricultural societies and served as president of the Oakland County Agricultural Society. In 1880, he turned the operation of the family farm over to his son, Edwin Jr. The senior Edwin Phelps died in 1904.

The 1903 Biographical Record of Oakland County had this to say about Edwin Phelps, in part:

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Edwin Phelps was four years old when his mother died and he was brought by his father to Oakland County, Michigan, in 1833, the father buying 180 acres in section 23, Pontiac township, which has continued to be our subject's home ever since. He was reared on this farm and attended the old log school house in the district. Upon reaching the age of 18 years, he returned to Pittsfield and attended the grammar school for six months, then entered the High School at Rochester, Michigan, which he attended under Professor Kedzie for two years. He then worked the home farm and on March 19, 1850, with a party of five left for the gold fields of California. They had seven horses and one wagon, and upon arriving at St. Joseph, Missouri, bought another wagon. They left the Missouri River at St. Joseph, Missouri, and on their way to the coast passed two forts,-Fort Kearney on the Platte River, and Fort Laramie. The trip was a hard one and hazardous and consumed four and a half months. Mr. Phelps continued in California for two years, making considerable money in the diggings, then returned home and purchased the home farm of his father. He continued to work the farm with great success until 1880 when his rheumatism became too bad for him to continue the hard work and undergo exposure to all kinds of weather. He has dealt extensively in blooded cattle, and has also fed as high as 150 head. He first bred Herefords, and then imported 70 head of Holsteins which he bred for several years. He has been a director and president of the Oakland County Agricultural Society almost since its inception, and for many years was a director of the State Agricultural Society. He is a Democrat in politics and cast his first vote for Franklin Pierce. He was a justice of the peace for a period of 25 years, and school director many years. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias; and has been a member of the Grange since its organization, serving as master for a long time. He helped in the organization of the Universalist Society, and assisted in building all the churches in the vicinity, although a member of none.

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The Phelps farm eventually passed into the hands of a son-in-law, William Walter Smith, who had married Phelps' daughter, Clara, in 1900. The historical Phelps family farmhouse was last occupied by members of the family in 1966. In 2020, the house forms part of the Havenwyck Hospital campus. (Note: The postal address of this property was previously 1370 Doris Road.)

. . .

John Galloway and Alinda Galloway his wife to Elnathan Phelps, 16 July 1833, consideration $1400, northwest quarter of section 23, Township of Pontiac, containing 160 acres more or less, Oakland County Record of Deeds, liber 7, p.327.

Biographical Publishing Company. Biographical Record: This Volume Contains Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens of Oakland County, Michigan ... Chicago: Biographical Publishing Company, 1903, pp.606-608.

Durant, Samuel W. History of Oakland County, Michigan. Philadelphia: L. H. Everts & co., 1877, plate opp. p.77.

Randall, Natalie Kilmer. Pontiac Township 1827-1983: The End of an Era. [Pontiac Township, Mich. : The Author?], 1983, pp.69-70.

Chapman Brothers. Portrait And Biographical Album of Oakland County, Michigan. Chicago: Chapman bros., 1891, pp.639-640.

"United States Census, 1870", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHCC-2B5 : 19 March 2020), Edwin Philps, 1870.

"United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MW37-S6L : 26 August 2017), Edwin Phelps, Pontiac, Oakland, Michigan, United States; citing enumeration district ED 263, sheet 286D, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm 1,254,599.

"United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MLR2-XYN : accessed 14 August 2020), Edwin Phelps, Pontiac, Oakland, Michigan, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 147, sheet 5B, family 98, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 668; FHL microfilm 1,374,681.

"United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K4PQ-119 : 21 December 2019), Walter Smith, Pontiac Township, Oakland, Michigan, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 63-129, sheet 8B, line 42, family 175, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 1802.