Trowbridge House: 344 South Park St.

Italianate-style Home (built 1876)

William C. and Mary (Whitcomb) Trowbridge

William Clement Trowbridge (1821-1893) was a merchant from South Carolina. He was visiting his uncle Silas Trowbridge in Kalamazoo when he met Mary A. (Smith) Whitcomb (1826-1892), widow of Kalamazoo distiller Luke Whitcomb. The two were married in November 1869 and settled in the Whitcomb home, which then stood on South Street across from Bronson Park, where the First Presbyterian Church is today.

In 1876, Mary sold her home on South Street to Kalamazoo building contractors Bush & Paterson, who owned the adjoining property to the east. Bush & Paterson then built a new home for her facing Park Street at the rear of Silas Trowbridge’s property on South Street. That same year in August, William Trowbridge formed a partnership with A.E. Sherwood and built a new grocery store on the northwest corner of Main Street (Michigan Avenue) and Church Street in Kalamazoo, directly opposite the First Baptist Church. The building (302-308 W. Michigan Ave.) still stands, having most recently housed the Michigan News Agency and other retailers.

The Trowbridge house (originally 20 South Park Street, later renumbered as 324 S Park, and again as 344 S Park) stood on the northwest corner of Park and Lovell streets, opposite the Ladies Library building. William and Mary Trowbridge lived in the house until the 1890s, before passing it along to Mary’s daughter and eventually a granddaughter. It was used as an office by Kalamazoo patent attorneys Fred L. Chappell and Otis A. Earl from the late 1920s until 1960 when it was razed to make way for the current Kalamazoo Institute of Arts building.

Written by Keith Howard, Kalamazoo Public Library staff, March 2025