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GALESBURG COUNTRY HOME ACRES Galesburg, Michigan
Entrance
sign in 2016
The
entrance sign in 2006 This is another planned community in
which four homes were built on a single street (the Parkwyn Village (S.298-S.301)
subdivision in nearby Kalamazoo is another).
Although originally designed as the Galesburg Country Homes, the
subdivision (as platted with the county) is legally known as Galesburg
Country Home Acres, and is known in the area as The Acres. Its entrance sign gives a nod to FLW with
its red squares. There are five homes in this
subdivision. Four were designed by
Wright: the David I. Weisblat home, 11185 Hawthorne
Drive (S.294), the Eric Pratt residence, 11036 Hawthorne (S.295), the Samuel Eppstein residence, 11090 Hawthorne (S.296) and the
Curtis Meyer home, 11108 Hawthorne (S.297).
A non-Wright design is found at 11069 Hawthorne Drive (the Günther & Anne Fonken
residence, designed by apprentice Francis “Will” Willsey and built in 1959; it sold
in 2014). As recorded in 1949
(which may not be the original plat since construction apparently began in
1948), the development included 22 homes on 70 acres in what had originally
been the Bilotta farm. The plan called for circular lots with
114-foot radii (as was also planned for the Parkwyn Village subdivision in
Kalamazoo), with each house occupying an acre, and the remaining land in
common ownership through a homeowners’ association. (One plat map shows a total of 24 lots.) Three of the homes employed a
textile block system similar to what Wright had used in California. This was intended as a do-it-yourself
alternative to help reduce costs.
Owners here and in Kalamazoo worked together to build these blocks
using native materials at the Kalamazoo development. Water from Asylum Lake was used, but it led
to some discoloration from lime deposits that had to be scrubbed from the
bricks with acid. Mahogany was used
for the trim, and bulk purchasing enabled the owners to buy this nicer wood from
a lumber yard in Grand Rapids at roughly the price of pine. Wright’s standard specifications call for
cypress, but the homeowners’ group was able to save money while getting a
better-quality wood. John Howe supervised construction of
all four Wright homes, and also organized an expansion at Weisblat
in 1960. NOTE: Update 4/7/2018: I
have received updated information about the lots – notably, the Weisblat house is on Lot 9, according to the current
owners. I will be updating my research. The
Galesburg Country Home Association collectively owns some lots (lot 10 was
conveyed to the Association in 2005).
Here are the ownership and dispositions of other lots: Lot
1: undeveloped Lot
2: Fonkens residence at 11069 Hawthorne Drive; not
a Wright design Lot
3: was owned by the Meyer family, but remained undeveloped Lot
4: intended for the Nathan family; remained undeveloped Lot
5: undeveloped Lot 6: 11036
Hawthorne Drive, originally owned by Pratt Lot 7: 11090
Hawthorne, originally owned by Eppstein Lot
8: undeveloped Lot 9: 11185 Hawthorne,
originally owned by Weisblat Lot
10: appears to be undeveloped; deeded to Association in 2005 by the Johnson
family, who were intended as original owners of a Wright design Lot 11: 11108
Hawthorne, originally owned by Meyer Lots
12-18, 20: undeveloped Lot
19 or 21: shown as originally owned by Weisblat,
but not part of its current residence Photographed in *August 2006 and on
May 20, 2016. An “official” website
address shown on area signage appears to be inactive. |
S.294 – David I. Weisblat Residence, 11185 Hawthorne Drive
This home sits at the back of the
subdivision on lot 9. Other county
records show that another lot may have also been held by the Weisblat family, but not developed (or at least not given a
Wright home). This was the first of
Wright’s homes built in this subdivision (1948).
The house remained in the Weisblat family until being placed
on the market in August 2016. It has
since sold.
*
*
S.295 – Eric Pratt
Residence, 11036 Hawthorne Drive
The
Pratt residence sits on lot 6. It is the
first house you encounter as you come down Hawthorne Drive from South 36th
Street, and the views shown here are in a wide-open space visible from the
street.
2016 photos:
Small outbuilding
2006 photos:
*
*
*
S.296 – Samuel Eppstein Residence, 11090 Hawthorne Drive
Many guidebooks erroneously list the
address as 11098 Hawthorne Drive. Its
actual address is 11090, as confirmed by its mailbox, deeds registered with the
county, and the paperwork on file with the federal government as
part of the historic designation of this subdivision. Dorothy Eppstein’s
memories of living in this home are found on-line.
The house is on lot 7. It underwent substantial renovation in
2015/2016 and has since been sold.
2006 photos:
*
*
2016 post-renovation photos:
Close-up of repair to wall
S.297 – Curtis
Meyer Residence, 11108 Hawthorne Drive
The
house is found on lot 11 of the subdivision.
County records indicate that lot 3 also was in the Meyer family, but
that lot is undeveloped.
Günther & Anne Fonken residence, 11069 Hawthorne Drive (lot 2)
designed by
apprentice Francis “Will” Willsey
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Revised
04/07/2018 |
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