Rollin Sprague Building
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Rollin Sprague Building-Old Stone Store | |
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| Location | 300 Main St., Rochester, Michigan |
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| Coordinates | 42°40′46″N 83°08′00″W / 42.67944°N 83.13333°W |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1849 |
| Built by | Thomas Anscomb |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival, Late Victorian |
| NRHP reference No. | 99000474[1] |
| Added to NRHP | April 22, 1999 |
The Rollin Sprague Building, also known as the Old Stone Store, is a commercial building located at 300 Main Street in Rochester, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.[1] The building is a rare example of coursed, cobblestone construction, and is the only known commercial building in Michigan featuring this type of construction.[2]
Rollin Sprague was born in Ontario County, New York in 1806. He moved with his family to Oakland County by 1821, and by 1831 was a prominent local physician. in that year, he opened a drug store in Rochester in a partnership with his father-in-law, David Cooper. The drugstore was located in what was previously Rochester's first schoolhouse, and remained in that building until 1849, when Sprague commissioned the construction of this building.[2] The mason who built it was Thomas Anscomb, an English-born stonemason living in Troy Township.[3]
Dr. Sprague died in 1872 and left his business to his wife, Adeline Cooper Sprague. She continued to operate it until 1875, when she sold it to Barnes & Goodison, who operated it as a general store. In 1899, the front facade of the building was remodeled. Barnes & Goodison continued to use the building as a dry goods store and drug store until 1904. It later housed an auto dealership and a dairy. In 1947, Harry Schaefer and Donald Bennett opened the Scha-Ben bakery in the building, which later became the Home Bakery. The bakery has occupied the building since.[3]
