Deconstructing the Past

Watch the Michigan Historic Preservation Network webinar

Watch the April 9, 2024 Presentation on YouTube

Explore the “Deconstructing the Past” Photo Gallery

The Sutton/Kolongowski Farmhouse at 11703 Noggles Road in Manchester Township now has a beginning and an end. Built in about 1860, renovated and expanded in 1949, its history is being preserved with support from the Manchester Area Historical Society. What happened within its walls and in the farmyard and fields surrounding it during that time has been the subject of the “Deconstructing the Past” project. Since walls cannot talk, we relied on memories, local history, pictures, documents, and conjecture to bring some of its secrets to light. There is still much more to be gleaned from the intriguing history of this humble farmhouse in southwest Manchester Township. If you have been involved in any part of this project, we want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Please stay tuned for updates.

The associated seventy-nine acres have now been transferred to Legacy Land Conservancy, which plans to open the Iron Creek Preserve by the spring of 2025.

In the fall of 2023, the house was methodically deconstructed, instead of being landfilled. All traces of the house have now been removed.

The house that was the focus of this project was slated to be demolished to support the creation of a public nature preserve as Legacy Land Conservancy becomes the new steward of this property. The Iron Creek Preserve is expected to open by the spring of 2025. Though restoration of the farmhouse was considered, it was determined not to be feasible.

Deconstruction has given us a chance to honor this humble house and those who lived here. The process has been documented through photos and videos, along with many other historical records. We are doing our best to interpret what we have found in order to share what we have learned with the wider community. All of the compiled information will be hosted here.

All of the reclaimed materials will be reused and repurposed, eliminating landfill waste and providing raw material for modern and historic projects.

CURRENT STATUS & PLANS

The removal of the foundation and reclamation of the site was completed in April 2024.
Our team presented an overview of the project on April 9, 2024.
A display of artifacts and some of the intriguing history of the site is being created at the Manchester Area Historical Society Museum.
We are currently in the process of adding some photos from the April presentation and deconstruction of the farmhouse to our DTP photo gallery.
Additional history is being gathered by the descendants of the Sutton and Kolongowski families, and by Marian Feinberg, Preservation Studies M.S. Candidate at Eastern Michigan University.
The goal is to create a comprehensive, digital document that will tie several topics together in a way that will allow others to learn from this endeavor.
Our plan is to make a series of short films on each topic to provide details about the entire project (we are seeking volunteers and funding).
This summer, we collaborated with Legacy Land Conservancy to create a webinar about the history and deconstruction of the farmstead for the Michigan Historic Preservation Network. You can watch the Oct 17th, 2024 webinar here to learn about the connection between historic preservation and land preservation.
When the Iron Creek Preserve opens in spring of 2025, we plan to offer workshops to share the story of this land and the people who have lived here.

We welcome inquiries about additional presentations or about how what we have learned can be applied to other historic homes whose stories are untold. Contact Sybil Kolon at sybil.kolon@gmail.com.
We will continue to work on telling this story, which has evolved into three themes related to this location over time:

1. The natural lands that provide the foundation for human habitation;
2. How the people who lived here over time lived on and with the land and how that can inform our own connection to the land;
3. What we can learn from that in order to live more sustainably to ensure that the land can continue to support us and the natural world on which we depend.

TOPICS COVERED IN THE “DECONSTRUCTING THE PAST” RECORDED PRESENTATION

Sutton family history
Kolongowski family history
Iron Creek area history
Deconstruction vs demolition
Building methods and materials over time
The evolution of the landscape over time as human culture evolved

This project has been made possible due to the commitments of many:

Manchester Area Historical Society (MAHS)
- Ray Berg, President MAHS
- Jaimie Schmidt, Trustee, MAHS
- Sue LaRocque, MAHS Museum Curator
Legacy Land Conservancy
- Diana Kern, Executive Director, Legacy Land Conservancy
- Susan LaCroix, Land Protection Director, Legacy Land Conservancy
Architectural Salvage Warehouse of Detroit (ASWD)
- Chris Rutherford, Executive Director, ASWD
Michigan Historic Preservation Network
- Brenda Rigdon, Executive Director, MHPN
Marian Feinberg, Eastern Michigan University, Preservation Studies M.S. Candidate & Halle Library Archival Employee (EMU)
Jeffrey Weatherford, Preservation by Design & EMU Faculty
Katie Delahoyde, Preservation Studies M.S. Graduate, EMU
Misty Jackson, Arbre Croche Cultural Resources
Laura Sutton, Great-great granddaughter of Richard Sutton, who built the house in 1858
Sybil Kolon, Granddaughter of Louis Kolongowski, who updated the house in 1949
Silas Bialecki, Lifelong Iron Creek resident and passionate interpreter of natural resources and Indigenous culture
Sarah Felder, Artwork and Media
Peter Knox, Videography
Linda Knox, Media
Annabelle Otto, Media
Lew Kellum, Videography