The credit union on the corner of State and Midland has been there for a while now and I almost forgot about the beautiful old house that use to sit on that lot. Sadly, the house was demolished in 2009 and I never got a photo of it and wished that I did, I guess that is one of the reasons why I take so many random pics around Saginaw. Tom Trombley from the Castle Museum was kind enough to find this Lithograph of the house for me.

The house, which I remember as “ The House of Oak”, was originally built in 1865 by Scottish Immigrant Thomas Parker, he started out as a farmer but then became a brick maker with a kiln and factory next to his house, he employed 18 people and made 2 million bricks a year. He built the home in Italianate cube style of the mid-19th century. Legend says Parker used 350,000 bricks to build it. It has 15 rooms and six chimneys.

The house always stood out to me since it was out away from the city, I imagine in the late 1800’s it must have stood out among the farm houses and I would think the trip to Saginaw was not as easy as driving down a 6 lane paved State Street, it was probably a two track path back then.

I know nothing lasts forever and, progress marches forward, but vising cities and towns that I have little knowledge of thier history, it’s the old buildings and houses that stand out, not the banks, party stores and strip malls.

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