Shelden Estate "Green Hill Farm" in Stony Creek Metro Park.: 2021

GREEN HILL FARM

1 These stone walls and steps, as well as

2 the old tennis courts, are all that remain

3 of Green Hill Farm—seasonal home of

4 Elizabeth and Allan Shelden II. The

5 Sheldens purchased the farmhouse in

6 1926. They hired James and Mary

7 Wilcox, a pair of Scottish immigrants,

8 as caretakers. By 1958 the Sheldens had

9 expanded the estate to 846 acres. At the

10 farm, they enjoyed hunting, horseback

11 riding, and other outdoor activities.

12 Allan died of pneumonia in 1935,

13 leaving the estate to Elizabeth. The

14 Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority

15 (HCMA) negotiated with Elizabeth in

16 1958 to add Green Hill Farm to the new

17 Stony Creek Metropark. Elizabeth

18 donated 178 acres to the authority and

19 sold it an additional 222 acres. The

20 remaining 444 acres were turned over

21 to HCMA in 1981 after James’s death.

22 HCMA demolished the structures on

23 the farm due to their remote location.

Mark Connett IIHistorical Detroit Area Architecture

Allan Shelden home.

94/314 West Congress street, Downtown Detroit, also known as the Allan Shelden and James H. Farnsworth Sr & Jr, residence. Built possibly 1869-1870 or earlier? A rather obscure house that I only found due to another picture of a building that sat next door so I cropped the image to focus on this home. Not a lot of info on this home but according to the 1870 Directory this was once the home the Allan Shelden before his move to his more well-known and more extravagant mansion had been built on Fort Street. Allan was known for his firm Allan Shelden & Company which were wholesale Dry Good merchants and even worked with former Senator Zachariah Chandler for a time as a business partner with the firm as well. He lived in this home up until 1875, and he moved to West Fort Street as his new home had been built. James H. Farnsworth Sr and his son James H. Farnsworth Jr would later occupy after Sheldon, both were Dentists and their office was located along Jefferson Avenue. Not much else to say about this home but it was torn down either in the late 1880s/early 1890s as it was gone by 1897. The spot was later occupied by a couple of other Businesses and eventually a Parking Garage by the 1920s or so. Credit goes to the Burton Historical Collection for the image dated 1881?