At Home in Rochester: James S. Stackhouse Residence

In the summer of 1899, carpenter and contractor James S. Stackhouse built this home at 426 West Fifth Street (now West University Drive) as his family residence, after purchasing his lot on the Sprague Addition from Albert G. Griggs. The Rochester Era told its readers on July 28, 1899 that: "The frame of J. S. Stackhouse's new house is up, the roof is on and work is rapidly proceeding toward completion."

James S. Stackhouse was born in Northampton County, Pennsylvania in 1846, the son of James Stackhouse and Kattie Shiffer. He married Frances M. Frutchey, also a native of Northampton County, and the couple migrated from Pennsylvania to Michigan about 1880. James and Frances Stackhouse were the parents of ten children; their son, James, was the operator of a meat market at 413 S. Main Street in Rochester and was married to Rochester's postmistress, Jessie McDonald Stackhouse.

In 1920, James S. Stackhouse died in his home at 426 W. Fifth Street; his wife died in 1929. The Stackhouse heirs sold the family home in 1937 to Joseph I. Moore and his wife Margaret, who used it as their family residence.  The Stackhouse residence is currently the location of the offices of Communicare on Canvas, an artistic rehabilitation program.  The building celebrates its 114th birthday this summer.