Concord’s Historic Gem: The Mann House, 1883
The Mann House in Concord is a Late Victorian-era frame house, located east of downtown at 205 Hanover Street.
Wanting to move closer to the schools and social establishments, Daniel and Ellen Mann had their home built in 1883 on a downtown neighborhood block.
“So what?” some of you may wonder...”how does that make THEIR house so historic if many others did the same thing?”
Fair enough question.
After their move, the Manns had the very first telephone in Concord installed. Also, according to michigan.gov, “Daniel and Ellen.....valued education and encouraged both daughters to attend school and college....In 1900, the Mann daughters both graduated college with unusual degrees for women during the period. Both women became teachers. From the mid 1940s to the mid 1960s, the sisters lived together, spending their summers in their family home.”
Neither of the sisters - Mary Ida and Jessie Ellen - ever married. They were dedicated to preserving their family home and in the 1950s, they negotiated with the Michigan Historical Commission to turn it into an historic house museum.
Mary Ida passed away in 1959 and Jessie Ellen followed in 1969. The left every piece of their belongings to the public and in October 1970, after Jessie Ellen’s passing, the state made the house available for public viewing. It was left just as t was when the sisters lived there.
The house reflects their years there – 1883 to 1969 – with all their belongings and artifacts that date back almost 150 years.
You can tour the old house for free during the summer.
