Cooper Township near Kalamazoo in Kalamazoo County, Michigan — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

DeLano Homestead

Photographed by Duane Hall, September 17, 2013

1. DeLano Homestead Marker

Inscription. William Smith DeLano (1819-1901) was a southwestern Michigan pioneer settler. He built this modest Greek Revival style house in 1858. A native of western New York State, DeLano came to the area with an uncle in 1837. He first worked clearing farms for neighbors. In 1843, at the age of twenty-three, he purchased forty acres and began the family farmstead. By 1854 DeLano owned over one hundred acres; by 1880 he had 235 acres. Over the years, DeLano's sons continued to purchase neighboring lands. The family eventually acquired over six hundred acres. Members of the family lived on the farm until 1963. For several years afterwards, the house was neglected. In 1968 the Kalamazoo Nature Center acquired the structure and most of the original DeLano farm. The farmhouse was restored and opened to the public in 1975.

Erected 1982 by Michigan History Division, Department of State. (Marker Number L432.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Agriculture • Environment. In addition, it is included in the Michigan Historical Commission series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1858.

Location. 42° 21.715′ N,

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85° 35.857′ W. Marker is near Kalamazoo, Michigan, in Kalamazoo County. It is in Cooper Township. It is on W. E Avenue 0.3 miles west of N. Westnedge Avenue, on the left when traveling west. The marker and farmhouse can be reached by a short trail from the nearby Kalamazoo Nature Center parking lot; the driveway to the parking lot is on the south side of the road 0.1 miles west of the marker. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 555 W E Avenue, Kalamazoo MI 49009, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Southwest Michigan.

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 Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: 70s Spreading Our Roots (approx. ¾ mile away); 60s Planting Seeds (approx. ¾ mile away); 80s Growing Strong (approx. ¾ mile away); 90s Branching Out (approx. ¾ mile away); 00s Cultivating a Green Future

Photographed by Duane Hall, September 17, 2013

2. DeLano Homestead Marker

View to south from W. E Avenue

(approx. ¾ mile away); Cooper Congregational Church (approx. 1.3 miles away); Kindleberger Park (approx. 2.9 miles away); The Kalamazoo Region (approx. 3.1 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Kalamazoo.

Also see . . . William S. DeLano House. The DeLano house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. From the Nomination Form:

The William S. DeLano House possesses considerable importance to Kalamazoo County and southern Michigan for its age and century-long ownership by the pioneer family which constructed it and as a particularly well preserved example of a vernacular Greek Revival homestead. The house was built in 1858 by DeLano, who moved to the area from western New York in 1838, only a few years after the beginnings of settlement in Kalamazoo County. William DeLano began to acquire his farmstead in 1843, and by 1854 owned over one hundred acres. By 1880 his farm contained 235 acres. William S. DeLano died in 1901. His youngest son, Orlyn J. DeLano, lived in the house until his death in 1956. The last DeLano occupant, Orlyn's wife, Myrtice, died in 1963. Purchased in 1968 by
Photographed by Duane Hall, September 17, 2013

3. DeLano Farmhouse
the Kalamazoo Nature Center, the deteriorated homestead was restored in 1975 as an historic house museum.

The DeLano House is typical of the vernacular Greek Revival farmhouses which dotted the southern Michigan countryside in the 1840s and 1850s. Houses built upon the same L-plan arrangement, with the entrance in a recessed porch in the wing, exist throughout upstate New York and the Great Lakes region. Because of its virtually unaltered condition, however, the DeLano House is today almost unique in Kalamazoo County.

(Submitted on July 24, 2026, by Joel Seewald of Madison Heights, Michigan.)

DeLano Farmhouse in the Early 1970s image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Duane Hall, September 17, 2013

4. DeLano Farmhouse in the Early 1970s

A then and now photo exhibit near the marker that shows the farmhouse prior to its rehabilitation in 1975

Credits. This page was last revised on July 25, 2026. It was originally submitted on September 26, 2013, by Duane Hall of Abilene, Texas. This page has been viewed 1,928 times since then and 89 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on September 26, 2013, by Duane Hall of Abilene, Texas.