A Journey to the Past

Here is the story I wrote for the Museum Guild of Dearborn project.  Hope you enjoy!


A Journey to the Past
Michelle Martin


I love history. Next to music, history is a huge passion of mine. There is no denying my fascination with people and places of the past. This love of history has definitely been enhanced by living in Dearborn, a city richly painted by time. I have lived in Dearborn most of my life. Even though I could write many stories based around my education in Dearborn Public Schools: Snow Elementary, Stout Junior High and Edsel Ford High School and then at Henry Ford Community College, or about my time working at Dearborn establishments: Crowley’s, Greenfield Village, and Ford Motor Company, I will instead focus on one evening spent searching out the locations mentioned in William Nowlin’s book, The Bark Covered House.

One October evening in 2000, my mom (another lifelong Dearbornite) and I took a journey in and around locations described in The Bark Covered House. We had both read the book numerous times, but I wanted to go beyond the story and its pages. We assumed the actual buildings no longer existed, but that did not stop us from immersing into the adventure. I brought along my point and shoot camera, two thermoses full of coffee, and the book with a sticky-note on its map.

Our First stop was The Ten Eyck Tavern, which a historical marker has stood since 1950 on Michigan Avenue. Conrad Ten Eyck was such a character in the story of The Bark Covered House, and he definitely deserved a stop on our journey. Mr. Ten Eyck came to life in the pages of The Bark Covered House, as did other early Dearborn pioneers: Nowlin, Pardee and Snow to name a few. Dearborn now boasts many schools, buildings and roads named after these important men.

My mother and I spent some time picturing what Michigan Avenue would have looked like in the 1800s, and how unfortunate it is that the tavern was not preserved. I imagined it must have been similar to the Eagle Tavern from Clinton, Michigan, which now resides in Greenfield Village. Interestingly enough I worked there from 1993 until 1996 dressed in period clothing depicting 1850.

The next stop on our journey was the location of the Dearborn Arsenal. William Nowlin’s father, John, worked for the government and helped build the arsenal in Dearbornville. Today all that remains is the building Dearborn Music resides and the Commandant’s Quarters. The Commadant’s Quarters is a beautiful mansion built by Leiutenant Joshua Howard, the first commandant of the Arsenal. Luckily the building is still intact. We were not able to tour the building, as it was past business hours. However, I have been able to tour the building many times and did so once again the week after our journey.

Our third stop was to scope out the location of the Nowlin Castle, where William’s parents spent their golden years. Even though it was not much of a castle by today’s standards, the home meant so much to William Nowlin and his family. It stood at the corner of Monroe and Madison, which interestingly enough was next to where I was living at the time: Oxford Village Apartments. I also began to call Monroe, Hardscrabble road, as depicted in The Bark Covered House. Imagining a time when Monroe Boulevard was a dirt road is very exciting, though some of my friends at the time found calling it Hardscrabble a bit strange.


Our fourth stop took us to the site of the Bark Covered House itself. Located by Monroe Boulevard and north of the Ecorse River (which now flows under the roadway), stories surrounding the hard and determined life the Nowlins spent at the homestead are very captivating and engaging as a reader. I also realized I had lived a block from this location for a few months a year prior to this trip. My life in Dearborn had basically been experienced in and around The Bark Covered House, without my even knowing it.

Our fifth, and final stop, brought us to the Nowlin Cemetery located on Van Born Road in what is now on the boarder of Dearborn and Taylor, Michigan. Originally on the southwest corner of the Nowlin farm, the cemetery sits amidst businesses and homes. It was closed, as we expected. However, unlike the other locations that have been plowed over and reassigned, the cemetery still stood. The eternal home for this pioneering family of Dearborn, and the resting place of many of their relatives. At the time, I tried to get access by calling around local organizations that might have entry to the cemetery. However, my hope was never to be.

After moving nine years ago to our current Dearborn home, unintentionally only a block from Nowlin Elementary School, I misplaced the photographs from our journey to the past. I now have two little girls who love to visit The Henry Ford and the grounds at Fair Lane, Henry Ford’s Estate. They love looking at old pictures that illustrate books I have of Dearborn and its history, and when they get older I will encourage them to read William Nowlin’s book. As a teacher and parent, I hope to inspire children to take journeys that are rich with history and imagination. Maybe one day I’ll have the privilege to journey to the past once again.