Ward–Holland House
Marine City, Michigan, NRHP-listed in St. Clair County
The Ward-Holland House is a private house located at 433 North Main Street in Marine City, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
History
Captain Samuel Ward was known throughout Michigan as "Uncle Sam the Steamboat King." In 1819, Ward settled in Marine City and constructed a shipyard and a brickyard. He built this house about 1830, which at the time was described as being one of two brick houses between Detroit and the North Pole. Through the nineteenth century, the Ward family acquired extensive mercantile, shipping, and manufacturing interests, and dominated the shipping trade on the Great Lakes.
Ward lived in this house until he died. In 1876, the house was purchased from Ward's estate by Robert Holland, also a shipbuilder. The Holland family owned the house until 1994, when it was sold to Lisa and Steve Kern.
Description
The Ward-Holland House is a two-story brick Greek Revival structure. The outer walls are solid brick, reportedly 16 inches thick, and the house is framed with hand hewn beams eight to twelve inches square.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Ward–Holland House” as marine City, Michigan, NRHP-listed in St. Clair County. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as marine City, Michigan, NRHP-listed in St. Clair County. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q48740904. Authority coordinates are 42.724, -82.489. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1972, 1819, 1830 and 1876.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Ward–Holland House”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Ward–Holland House primary sources, Ward–Holland House archive and Ward research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Ward–Holland House”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Ward–Holland House” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.