Rose, S., 604: Ira D. Bixby House

Home of lumber merchant

One of S. Rose Street’s most elegant and well-maintained homes is the Ira D. Bixby House, an Italian Villa-style residence built for one of Kalamazoo’s early lumber dealers. In 1860, the southwest corner of Walnut and Rose had been occupied by three small houses, but five years later, when Bixby (1821-1910) built his home on the corner, he gobbled up both lot 24 for the home, and Lot 35 (to the west).

Ira D. Bixby was born in Berkshire County, Massachusetts in 1821 to Salmon and Betsey Bixby. He came to Kalamazoo in 1853 to make his money in the grocery sector and lumber business. Four years earlier, he had married his wife, Mary A. Bixby. The 1860 city directory lists the couple as residing at College (AKA as Westnedge) and Lovell streets. Bixby went into business with W.E. Blanchard and his brothers Lorenzo and Edward, establishing their lumber facility on North Burdick Street, near the railroad depot.

“Bixby Brothers are lumber and commission merchants and wholesale and retail grocers at No. 89 North Burdick street. This business was established in the fall of 1854 by I.D. Bixby, who commenced here with a small capital, and has by indomitable energy united with extensive ability, overcome every obstacle. During the time he has been in business here his trade has gradually increased, and he has from time to time increased demand. In March 1866, Lorenzo Bixby, became partner, since which time the business has been conducted under the firm name of Bixby Brothers. As a reward for their liberality of dealing they have secured a large and profitable trade.”

—Kalamazoo Gazette, 17 October 1916

Like other successful businessmen of his era, Bixby also played a role in local politics, serving on the Village Board in the 1870s. It appears that Bixby’s business was successful due to Michigan’s abundant forests, allowing him and his family to afford their fashionable home and well-to-do lifestyle. It was said that Bixby’s wife was an active artist who used the prominent cupola as her studio.

“With its stylish tower and well-detailed bracketed cornice, this Italianate home is one of the finest in Kalamazoo and the Kalamazoo region. The detailing on the wooden structure is exceptional. The façade features paired round-headed windows with finely worked hoods. The cornice contains finely crafted pendant brackets and small, delicate bas-relief moldings can be found between the brackets on the frieze board.

–National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form

The Italianate style was the chic design of the late 1860s, and Bixby’s home reflects the period’s aesthetic emphasis on ornate detailing and an asymmetrical façade. The Bixby family occupied the home until 1906, eventually moving out when Mary Bixby passed away. Ira lived with one of his children for another four years and was buried in Mountain Home Cemetery. An insurance salesman named Wynn C. Gerow moved into the home in 1908. He sold the home to an instructor at the Western State Normal School named Nancy Scott in 1922. By the early 1930s, the onetime home for the Bixby family had been converted into multiple apartments. More recently, the home was purchased and restored by attorneys Lawrence W. Klute, and later, Dave York.

Written by Ryan Gage, Kalamazoo Public Library staff, December 2025