29 Buffalo St.

A wooden church occupied this site by 1841, the meeting place of the first Methodist congregation which formed in Clarkston between 1834 and 1837. Silas Smith, a carpenter and local preacher, is said to have been responsible for the construction of that windowless building. In 1873, plans were underway to replace the small dilapidated structure; E. Stiff, J. Peter and M. B. Vliet were the members appointed to the building committee. The 40' x 60', two story brick building with spire cost $9,000 and was dedicated on December 14, 1873. Built in the Italian Revival Style, the church is reminiscent of aTuscan basilica. Typical of the Italian Revival style are the round-arched windows with corbeled brick hoods, keystones and brackets; and blind round arches on the front facade. (Old photos show that these arches were emphasized with paint.) A corbeled brick frieze marks the division between the first and second stories and brackets support the eaves. A later two story addition was added to the east. (The porch on the second story of that addition was constructed in 1988.) The original bell tower and spire may be seen in a circa 1900 photo, above, right. The congregation moved to a new building, 6600 Waldon Rd., in 1961. The church was then used for the Sunday school for a time. The church and the two houses to the north were sold in 1967 to the Salvation Army who used the church for its services.The house at 11 Buffalo was used as a rental. The church and parsonage were abandoned by 1974. All three properties were in seriously deteriorated condition when they were sold to a private owner in 1980/81 when renovation work began. The two house properties were sold individually, and conversion of the church to single family residential was begun. Shortly thereafter, the church building was again sold. The new owners completed the conversion, building a garage in 1986 and subsequently adding a screened porch to the rear in 1988.