Henry W. Coddington (1828-1895)

19th-Century Kalamazoo Architect and Builder

During the second half of the 19th century, Henry W. Coddington was a “reliable and well-known architect and builder,” who was responsible for numerous churches, commercial buildings, and fine residential homes in Kalamazoo and elsewhere in Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois. Wrote the Kalamazoo Gazette in 1895, “many costly and beautiful edifices testify to his skill, both as a designer and builder.”

Born on 20 August 1828, Henry Coddington was the son of Martha and Samuel Osborn Coddington of Geneva, Ontario County, New York. The Coddingtons raised a large family—seven or more children—and at least three of their sons became career carpenters, two of whom (William W. Coddington and Henry W. Coddington) ended up in Kalamazoo.

After completing his formal education in Geneva, Henry Coddington learned his trade in the town of Dansville in Livingston County, New York, 50 miles or so south of Rochester. He also spent time working as a carpenter in New York City and Chicago. By 1850, Coddington had found his way to Michigan and was working in Grand Rapids.

While in Dansville, he met Jane Augusta “Jennie” Clute (1828-1902) of nearby Covington, New York, and on Christmas Eve, 1856, they were married. The service was officiated by the bride’s brother, Rev. N.M. Clute. Also in attendance was Jennie’s sister, Sarah A. Clute, who would later become one of the first instructors at the Michigan Female Seminary in Kalamazoo.

In September 1857, Henry and Jennie Coddington moved to Kalamazoo, where Henry took up work with the leading local builders, Bush & Paterson. The Coddingtons settled in a modest home with an expansive front dooryard, located at the northwest corner of Walnut and Burdick streets (86 South Burdick Street), where they raised their three sons: Hebber H. Coddington (born 1861), Wilbur A. Coddington (born 1865), and Louis A. Coddington (born 1870).

After a brief time with Bush & Paterson, Coddington formed a partnership with William O. Tuttle, a well-known local builder and contractor. The partnership proved short-lived, however, and in November 1861, the two went their separate ways. Tuttle moved on to Chicago, while Coddington remained in Kalamazoo and continued the business on his own. He set up a workshop and office on the north side of West Water Street (90-94 Water Street), a block west of the Lawrence & Chapin building. During the Civil War, Coddington registered for military service on 1 July 1863 at Kalamazoo, although there is no evidence that he was called for service.

By 1871, Coddington had begun building a new home for his family at the east end of their Burdick Street lot in front of the existing house, and by the spring of 1872, construction was well underway. “The style is unique, showy and graceful,” raved a reporter for the Kalamazoo Daily Telegraph, “one of the prettiest dwellings we have seen. We look upon this pretty building is the best thing in the architectural line that Mr. Coddington has yet produced.”

During the early morning hours of 9 February 1873, fire broke out at a store located near the corner of Water and Church streets. The flames soon spread and before the fire could be brought under control, both the store and Coddington’s workshop next door had burned to the ground. Coddington suffered a $1,200-$1,500 loss (roughly $40,000 in today’s dollars) for which he had no insurance. Rather than rebuild his workshop and office, Coddington sold their newly built Burdick Street home in March 1873 to Dr. James S. Ayres and moved his family (and his office) to Dr. Ayres’ former residence on South Rose Street, north of Vine Street (67 South Rose Street).

Chappell & Coddington Brick Factory

In 1877, Coddington purchased nine acres in Oshtemo Township, just west of Brownell Station near the Kalamazoo & South Haven Railroad line and, with partner Delos Chappell, set up a substantial brick manufacturing business. Their highly mechanized operation, capable of producing a million or more bricks per season (ten times that of the older hand-pressed method), employed a dozen hands and a machine manufactured by the J.W. Penfield & Son company of Willoughby, Ohio, “one of the largest and best brick and tile making machines in the market” (Kalamazoo Telegraph).

“They have an inexhaustible supply of fine clay for making pressed brick, tile or pottery,” wrote the Kalamazoo Telegraph, “producing, where found both a deep cherry red and salmon colored brick.” A narrow-gauge incline railway with a series of dump cars was used to move the clay from the pits to the processing area and into the two permanent kilns for drying. The brickyard appears to have been in operation for a brief period, perhaps four or five years. Chappell and Coddington terminated their partnership in 1880 and apparently discontinued the business soon after.

Residential Work

During his time in Kalamazoo, Coddington built several fine homes in the village, including Henry Gilbert’s residence at the northeast corner of Lovell and Rose streets (27 South Rose Street), Dr. William Mottram’s residence at the northwest corner of Lovell and Burdick streets (60 South Burdick), James P. Clapham’s residence at the corner of Spring and Taylor streets (14 Spring Street), and First National Bank vice president Robert S. Babcock’s residence on Academy Street (48 Academy Street). And Coddington’s residential work was not limited to Kalamazoo. In 1876, he built a stunning new home for J.A. Henry, a railroad contractor in Joliet, Illinois, said to be “one of the finest residences in the state, complete in every feature of modern improvement, style of architecture, and luxurious appliances” (Joliet Sun via Kalamazoo Telegraph).

In addition to building new homes, Coddington was known for his masterful renovation work on existing properties. In 1879, Coddington purchased and renovated the former home of prominent Kalamazoo brewer George Foegel, located across from the Kalamazoo College Ladies Hall on Lovell Street, and in 1883, he made extensive repairs and improvements to druggist George McDonald’s home at 707 West Main Street. Coddington’s 1870-71 renovation of the First Baptist Church on Main Street received rave reviews. “The members of the church are to be congratulated that the matter is in such good hands, as well as in the fact that they are soon to have a structure that will be not only a source of pride and satisfaction to them, but an ornament to our village” (Kalamazoo Telegraph).

Churches and Commercial Structures

Along with his residential work, Coddington was perhaps best known for designing, building, and repairing many prominent churches and commercial structures in Kalamazoo and elsewhere. The following were among the many projects he worked on:

• Ladies’ Hall of Kalamazoo College (1859)
• Manus Israel & Co. store, corner of Main and Rose (1864)
• Mission School in Kalamazoo, corner of Burdick and Ransom (1865)
• Michigan Female Seminary in Kalamazoo (1867) (asst. superintendent of construction)
• Kalamazoo Steam Brewery (1868)
• Methodist Episcopal Church in Kalamazoo (1869)
• St. John’s Episcopal Church in Kalamazoo (1869) (enlargement and repairs)
• Union School in Kalamazoo (1870) (repairs)
• Holly Water Works in Kalamazoo (1870)
• First Baptist Church in Kalamazoo (1871) (enlargement and renovation)
• “Collins Springs” Bathing House, Portage and Lake streets (1871)
• Baumann Block in Kalamazoo, Rose and Water streets (1872)
• Commercial building for Dodge & Son in Mishawaka, Indiana (1873)
• Schoolhouse in Cooper Township (1878) (architectural plans)
• Mrs. C.K. Allen’s building and Masonic Hall in Schoolcraft (1879)
• Woodward Avenue School in Kalamazoo (1879-1880) (architectural plans)
• First Baptist Church in Ann Arbor (1880)
• First Baptist Church in Marquette (1880)
• First Baptist Church in Ypsilanti (1882)
• Sheriff’s office and residence in Kalamazoo (1883) (repairs and improvements)
• St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Kalamazoo (1885)
• Methodist Church in Albion (1885)
• Methodist Church in Muskegon (1888)
• First Methodist Episcopal Church in Lansing (1890)
• First Presbyterian Church in Kalamazoo (1890) (interior renovation)
• Post Office in Kalamazoo (1890) (construction superintendent)
• St. Luke’s parish house in Kalamazoo, Lovell Street at St. John’s Place (1894)

When contractors were being selected for the construction of Kalamazoo’s second courthouse in 1885, Coddington submitted a $53,150.00 bid, the third lowest of the bids received, but the contract was awarded to a firm from Toledo. When the time came to build Kalamazoo’s new Public Library building in 1891, Coddington submitted a bid in the amount of $47,867.00, again the third lowest of the six competing entries. In the end, however, the contract went to Ulysses D. Wheaton of Kalamazoo.

“Messrs. Coddington and Menard have contracted to build a very pretty dome over the well, which will be completed in a short time. Mr. Menard does the stone work and Mr. Coddington the wood work and finish.”

—Kalamazoo Daily Telegraph, 12 April 1872

Erection of the parish house at St. Luke’s Church would be Henry Coddington’s final construction project. In February 1895, Coddington suffered a stroke, from which he never fully recovered. Henry Coddington passed away at his home in Kalamazoo on 1 December 1895 at the age of 67. He was a highly respected Past Master Workman member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen (AOUW) fraternal organization. Upon his death, Coddington was described by the Kalamazoo lodge as “one of the most indefatigable workers and the order at large one of its most earnest and consciencious[sic] supporters” (Gazette). His younger brother, William W. Coddington, also of Kalamazoo, passed away in July 1897 at the age of 66. Jennie (Clute) Coddington passed away in April 1902 at the age of 73. All were granted a final resting place at Mountain Home Cemetery.

Written by Keith Howard, Kalamazoo Public Library staff, February 2026