Niles in Berrien County, Michigan — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
The Chapin House ⎯⎯⎯ Henry Austin Chapin
Photographed by M. Bowyer, July 10, 2007
1. Henry Austin Chapin side of the marker
Inscription.
The Chapin House, also, Henry Austin Chapin. . The Chapin House. This Queen Anne style house, completed in 1884, was the Henry A. Chapin family home until 1902. In 1932, when the City of Niles bought the property at auction for $300, the Chapin children stipulated that it be used only for civic purposes. Now serving as the Niles City Hall, the house is built of local brick and terra-cotta tile. The interior is ornamented with leaded glass windows and transoms, handcarved woodwork, and stenciled ceilings. In 1939 the Works Progress Administration joined the carriage house to another outbuilding, thus creating the Fort St. Joseph Museum structure. The museum holds over 10,000 items, including Fort St. Joseph and Potawatomi Indian artifacts, local memorabilia, and a collection of drawings by Chief Sitting Bull. , Henry Austin Chapin. Henry A. Chapin (1813–1898) spent most of his early life in Ohio. He married Ruby N. Nooney in 1836 and settled in Edwardsburg, Michigan. In 1846 Chapin and S.S. Griffin opened the first general store in Niles. With his son Charles, Henry A. later established an insurance and loan agency. Their firm had interests in nearby paper mills and electric companies and real estate in Alabama, Illinois and Michigan. The bulk of the family capital came from the discovery of iron ore in Michigans Upper Peninsula. The Chapin Mine near Iron Mountain began operations in 1879. “Mr. H.A.” as he was known received up to $300,000 yearly in royalties from the mine. Owing to the Great Depression, the Chapin Mine closed in 1934, after fifty-five years of continuous production.
The Chapin House.
This Queen Anne style house, completed in 1884, was the Henry A. Chapin family home until 1902. In 1932, when the City of Niles bought the property at auction for $300, the Chapin children stipulated that it be used only for civic purposes. Now serving as the Niles City Hall, the house is built of local brick and terra-cotta tile. The interior is ornamented with leaded glass windows and transoms, handcarved woodwork, and stenciled ceilings. In 1939 the Works Progress Administration joined the carriage house to another outbuilding, thus creating the Fort St. Joseph Museum structure. The museum holds over 10,000 items, including Fort St. Joseph and Potawatomi Indian artifacts, local memorabilia, and a collection of drawings by Chief Sitting Bull.
Henry Austin Chapin.
Henry A. Chapin (1813–1898) spent most of his early life in Ohio. He married Ruby N. Nooney in 1836 and settled in Edwardsburg, Michigan. In 1846 Chapin and S.S. Griffin opened the first general store in Niles. With his son Charles, Henry A. later established an insurance and loan agency. Their firm had interests in nearby paper mills and electric companies and real estate in Alabama, Illinois and Michigan. The bulk of the family capital came from the discovery of iron ore in Michigans Upper Peninsula. The Chapin Mine near
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Iron Mountain began operations in 1879. “Mr. H.A.” as he was known received up to $300,000 yearly in royalties from the mine. Owing to the Great Depression, the Chapin Mine closed in 1934, after fifty-five years of continuous production.
Location. 41° 49.789′ N, 86° 15.225′ W. Marker is in Niles, Michigan, in Berrien County. It is on East Main Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 508 E Main St, Niles MI 49120, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Southwest Michigan and specifically in one of the Lake Michigan Shore counties. It is also in the American Midwest and on the Great Lakes. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France and also the Northwest Territory.
4. The former Chapin House carriage house - now Fort St. Joseph Museum
Credits. This page was last revised on November 23, 2019. It was originally submitted on July 15, 2007, by M. Bowyer of Indianapolis, Indiana. This page has been viewed 2,872 times since then and 41 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on July 15, 2007, by M. Bowyer of Indianapolis, Indiana. • J. J. Prats was the editor who published this page.
