Sibley House

01 / The story of this place

Make time for these

Solomon Sibley served as Detroit's first mayor after Michigan became a state, and after he died his widow Sarah had this Greek Revival house built on East Jefferson Avenue in 1848. Sibley descendants lived in the house for decades, keeping its symmetrical facade and columned front porch largely intact while the neighborhood around it changed from residential mansions to a denser stretch of the city. In 1925 the family sold the house to the neighboring Christ Church Detroit, which used it for various parish purposes before it became the church rectory in 1946. The house survives today as one of the oldest wood-frame structures left in Detroit, and a preservation group has worked to restore and maintain the building in recent years. Christ Church Detroit still uses it for parish offices, keeping a nearly 180-year-old piece of the city's early history in active use rather than letting it fall to demolition like so many of its Jefferson Avenue neighbors.

1. Built in 1848 for the family of Solomon Sibley, Detroit's first mayor
2. One of the oldest wood-frame houses still standing in Detroit
3. Sold to Christ Church Detroit in 1925
4. Served as the church rectory starting in 1946
5. Still used today as Christ Church Detroit's offices