Field Estate at 2541 Field Avenue on Detroit's Lower East Side is one of only a handful of pre-Civil War residences in Michigan. The house was constructed in the late 1850s by Detroit businessman and politician Moses Wheelock Field as a centerpiece to his 240-acre estate, Linden Lawn. Field was engaged in a number of enterprises including a wholesale grocery, then later, a barrel hoop and glass ma
nufacturing businesses. Field amassed numerous land holdings before his death in 1889, including what is now Woodmere Cemetary in Detroit's Springwells District. Among Field's accomplishments: he was a Michigan State Representative and founding member of the Greenback Party; founding member of the Michigan Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; founding member of the Detroit Institute of Arts; member of the University of Michigan Board of Regents; recognized as the person responsible for Detroit's first public drinking fountain. Field House is a two-story solid brick farmhouse and features Italianate influences such as a shallow hip roof and large, full-length windows. The twelve-room home features a long formal entrance hall and double parlors as well as four fireplaces; two carved marble and two carved pine. The homestead sits on a wooded lot and is set back off the street, surrounded by late 19th and early 20th century residences. The property features a French Pear that is at least 150 years old and an equally old apple tree, both of which still bear fruit. Only five families have owned the property since the house was built. The Field family owned the home into the 1930s before it was transfered to the Campau family. The Campaus sold to Dr. Robert Hughes in the 1940s, who in turn sold to Mr. Field House was purchased by Mr. Eric Criteser who began a long-term stabilization and restoration. The property was placed on Detroit's Historic Register in 1999.
