John and Jane Bird House, 1884 Miller Ave, built 1869

John C. Bird came to Ann Arbor Township from New Jersey with his parents in 1833 after his father Furman Bird bought this parcel of land. Following his parents’ deaths in the 1850s, John and his wife Jane (Slatford) made the family homestead their home. In 1860, the Birds began establishing a large orchard that became the first commercial peach orchard in town. The farm became known as “Peach Hill” (although hundreds of apple trees were also planted). John Bird served Ann Arbor Township as justice of the peace for 25 years and was an avid abolitionist and early supporter of the Republican Party. In 1869, he built the house we see today. 

The Birds’ Italianate home was built during the height of the style’s popularity and fea- tures an “Italianate Cube” shape with a shallow hipped roof, a double-bracketed cornice with dentils, a curved frieze board, and a large wraparound porch—features of this style (see #123). This original porch is supported by slender posts with traces of their former Gothic Revival style in the clusters at the top of the columns. There is no balustrade. The four-over-four win- dows on the front are paired, with the upper windows framed by eared trim and pediments with Gothic Revival detailing—a fea- ture repeated on the side windows as well. The front entrance has original painted glass sidelights and transom and an arch-paneled Italianate front door. The interior once had a curving stairway and 14 large, airy rooms. 

Mr. and Mrs. Earl Martin, Bird descendants, still owned the home in 1967. Mrs. Martin was the daughter of the original owner and was born in the house. Mr. Martin, together with George McCalla, held the first Farm Bureau fair on these grounds in 1938. In 1953, the area was partially subdivided as “ Arbor Heights” and later in 1955 it was subdivided as “Martin Acres.” By 1967, the Martins had added apartments in the back, but the house had not changed much since the 1860s. The house has been in the Birkle family now for many years. 

Former IHP

Return to Miller Road/Water Hill/Sunset neighborhood from Historic Ann Arbor: An Architectural Guide