Famous people's places / Grosse Ile

St. James Episcopal Church

A small stone church on Grosse Ile built with the bequest of Lisette Denison Forth, a formerly enslaved Detroit woman who became one of Michigan's first Black property owners.

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01 / The story of this place

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Lisette Denison Forth was born into slavery near Detroit around 1786, at a time when Michigan Territory still allowed it. She and her brother crossed into Canada to claim their freedom under British law, then returned to Detroit around 1815 and built a life as a landowner and businesswoman, becoming one of the first Black women in the territory to own property. When she died in 1866, she left money in her will for a church on Grosse Ile, and architect Gordon W. Lloyd designed the Carpenter Gothic church that went up the following year using her bequest. The church's red doors, added during a 1958 renovation, are dedicated to her memory, and the building became a National Register listing and a Michigan State Historic Site in 1971. St. James still holds regular services today.

Built in 1867 with the bequest of Lisette Denison Forth
Forth was one of Michigan's first Black female property owners
Carpenter Gothic design by architect Gordon W. Lloyd
Red doors, added in 1958, honor her memory
Michigan State Historic Site since 1971

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Lisette Denison Forth 1786–1866 · formerly enslaved landowner and philanthropist
Memorial
Church built with her bequest; its red doors are dedicated to her and a state historical marker on the site tells her story.

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Sources & fact check · Checked: 2026-09-25

An independently written bilingual guide. This collection is not an attendance-based ranking.