The French-Allen House

In November 1893, 32 year old Kalamazoo attorney Dorr O. French purchased this lot to build a home for his quickly growing family. He hired Architect H.B. Flagler, who lived just around the corner on W. Main Street. Building began in Spring, and by September 1895 the Gazette reported, “D.O. French and Architect H.B. Flagler will go to Chicago Monday to purchase the trimmings, hardware and stained glass for his new home on Stuart Avenue”. Dorr, his wife Emma & children Robert & Marguerite moved into the home shortly after.

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French came to Kalamazoo in 1884 where he furthered his study in Law under Thomas Sherwood. In 1888 he was admitted to the bar and then to the Supreme Court, after which he formed a 3 year partnership with James H. Kinnane under the title, “Kinnane & French”. He then began to practice alone and quickly became one of Kalamazoo leading lawyers, even serving for a time as Justice of the Peace and Circuit Court Commissioner.

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His office of 18 years was located in “Stevens Block”, directly across the street from the original Court House on West Main Street, now

Michigan Avenue.

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Dorr & Emma raised a total of 5 children at 418 Stuart, which was

always a beehive of activity. Extensive dinner parties, community get-togethers and warm family gatherings were regularly spoken about in the Kalamazoo Gazette, along with Dorr’s involvement in Kalamazoo Knights of Pythias. French continued his practice of Law until Spring of 1919, and passed away in the Fall of that year.

The funeral was held in the parlor of the home and he was buried at Mountain Home Cemetery. In 1921, his daughter Marguerite married attorney Wallace Visscher with the ceremony taking place in the home. They & the rest of the family then moved to Detroit.

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418 Stuart had a couple of short term owners throughout the 1920s before Harold & Ethel Allen purchased it in 1928 from former Columbia Hotel owner Adam Ehrman. Allen was the corporate secretary for the Upjohn Company and was also a key figure in many Kalamazoo community organizations. Allen loved the Stuart Neighborhood and regularly spoke of “the old days of Stuart”, especially when he participated in the very first Historic Homes Tour in 1978. Allen passed away in 1983 after 55 years of lovingly & diligently caring for the home.

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This home is a classic Queen Anne Victorian with its a-symmetrical facade, decorative bracket work & sweeping veranda. The beveled, corner tower features a double pitched roof and built in copper gutter, similar to the front porch.

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The interior features an array of woodwork. Quarter-sawn white oak for the foyer & staircase, butternut in the parlor & living room, & cherry in the dining room. During its construction, Marshall Field of Chicago oversaw the interior decoration, including the hand painted oil mural in the dining room, still intact to this day. The staircase stained glass window, door hardware & fireplace tile surround were also of Marshall Field. The upstairs bedrooms were each plumbed with their own sink & their own servant call-button.

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Since 2020, the house has been fully re-plumbed, fully insulated, and is currently undergoing a complete re-wire. It also underwent a full front porch restoration & an extensive renovation of the original bathroom; returning it to its original Victorian design & footprint after being partitioned into 2 bathrooms in the 1940's. The original cast-iron tub was restored & plaster cove ceiling reinstated. The servant call-button in the dining room floor &

parlor are now fully functioning, which ring the annunciator call box in the

kitchen.