Robert S. Wilson was an attorney who moved from Allegheny County, New York, to Ann Arbor in 1835.[3] He was Judge of the Washtenaw County Probate court for a year, and served in the Michigan House of Representatives. In approximately 1839, Wilson had this house built on a lot in Ann Arbor. He lived there until 1850, when he moved to Chicago[3] and sold the house to John H. Welles.[4]
Welles is thought to have constructed the rear addition to the house, and made other extensive alterations.[4] It is likely that the middle section was built in 1835, the temple portion was added in 1843, and the kitchen and servants quarters were added in 1850.[5] In 1855, Welles' son Henry moved into the house with his four daughters (Clarissa, Sarah, Mary Fiske, and Susan Holly),[5] after the death of his wife.[2][5] Henry Welles died in 1860, and the house passed to successive owners.[2] In 1893, the house was sold in a tax sale to George Wahr, and his wife, Emma (Staebler) Wahr.[5] The Wahr family constructed another house next door as their residence, and rented the house to sororities and fraternities.[6] After 20 years, they moved back into the main Wilson-Wahr House.[7] The house passed on to the Wahr's daughter, Natalie Wahr Sallade (who died in 1974),[5] and the Sallades occupied the house until 2002 when it was purchased by Norman and Ilene Tyler.[5]
The Robert S. Wilson House is a two-story Greek Revival structure constructed of brick with a stucco finish on a stone foundation.[3] Nearly every survey of Michigan architecture has singled out the Wilson House as an outstanding specimen of Neoclassical architecture design.[3] Architect Fiske Kimball attributed its "four study Ionic columns, rising through two stories, with graceful flutes and capitals" to the original Temple of the Wingless Victory at Athens.[5]
The front facade boasts a full-width portico with Ionic fluted shaft columns, and an entryway framed by matching pilasters. Windows have external shutters. A two-story addition on the rear was likely constructed more recently than the main portion of the house.[3]
Interior
Inside, the main section of the house is two parlors deep with a hall containing a stairwell to the side. The rear addition has a side entrance into another stair hall. All the major rooms in the house have fireplaces.[3]
^ abcdef"Judge Wilson House". Michigan State Housing Development Authority: Historic Sites Online. Archived from the original on March 1, 2014. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
^ abWenzell, Herbert G. (1936). "Judge R. S. Wilson House"(PDF). Historic American Buildings Survey. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. Archived from the original(PDF) on March 3, 2014. Retrieved February 25, 2014.
