Historical Society of Clinton featuring Deconstructing the Past presentation

All traces of the farmhouse at 11703 Noggles Rd, the focus of the Deconstructing the Past project, have now been removed.

submitted by the Historical Society of Clinton

Join the Historical Society of Clinton for a presentation that will trace the history of an 80-acre parcel of land near the eastern edge of the Irish Hills in the southwest corner of Manchester Township. The future Iron Creek Preserve features a section of Iron Creek near Noggles Road.

When Sybil Kolon and her husband decided to donate much of their land to become a nature preserve, the vacant house on the property was an obstacle that slowed down the process but also enhanced Sybil’s desire to connect people to nature — using history. Sybil will discuss how she worked with Legacy Land Conservancy, the Manchester Area Historical Society, an Eastern Michigan University graduate student in Preservation Studies, and many others to learn more about the occupants and the history of the house. The modest 1860s farmhouse was deconstructed instead of being demolished. This allowed for materials to be reused and provided more insight about the two families who lived there for over 150 years as well as details about the construction of the house.

The two presenters are: Sybil Kolon, whose family owned the property at 11703 Noggles Rd, Manchester, from 1948 up to the donation to Legacy Land Conservancy; and Laura Sutton, whose great-great-grandmother, Ann Mathews Sutton, and family owned the property from 1857 until 1947. Sybil Kolon’s grandparents bought it one year later. Check out the website at https://mahsmi.org/dtp/

The public is invited to the Clinton Township Public Library on Tuesday, March 25, at 7pm. Questions can be directed to Sharon Scott at sascott2@comcast.net.

For as little as $1 a month, you can keep Manchester-focused news coverage alive.

by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and founder of the Manchester Mirror.