by Dany Peavey, Stevan Sliger, John Krystof, and Travis Dvorak.
Architect: Charlton, Gilbert, & Demar
Location: U.S. 41, Wolverine
Built: 1899-1900
The Wolverine Copper Company was established in 1882. In 1898 John Stanton established Mohawk Mining Company five miles to the north and also gained control of the Wolverine. Fred Smith had been superintendent of the Wolverine since about 1892 and, when he was also assigned to supervise the Mohawk, the company built this house for him at a cost of nearly $12,000. After Smith’s retirement in 1913, Theodore Dengler, the new superintendent of both mining companies, occupied this house. After closure of the mines in 1932, Dengler bought the house from the company, reportedly for $22.50. Dengler committed suicide in the house in 1940.1
The house is a large Queen Anne-style mansion with porches, bay windows, a lively roofline, and diamond-paned windows. The front of the side-gable roof is pierced by two gabled dormers of different sizes. The wood-frame house has clapboards on the first floor and wood shingles above; the foundation is rough-faced Jacobsville sandstone. The interior, in an irregular L-shaped plan, is finely finished.
Buildings by Charlton et al. in the Copper Country
- Michigan Mining School, Engineering Building 1894
- J. Vivian, Jr. & Co. Building 1894
- Kroll Block 1897
- Vivian House 1898
- Hancock Town Hall and Fire Hall 1899
- Ruppe Block 1899
- John Rees House 1899
- Wolverine Copper Company Superintendent’s House 1900
- Wright Block 1900
- James R. and Virginia Cooper House 1900
- Susan Daniell House 1900
- St. Anne’s Church 1901
- John C. Donahue House 1901
- Michigan Mining School, Mining Engineering Building 1902
- Michigan Mining School, Chemistry Building 1902
- Hall Building 1902
- Michigan College of Mines, Gymnasium and Clubhouse 1906
- Calumet Manual Training and High School 1907
- Michigan College of Mines, Administration and Library Building 1908
- Ripley School 1908
- Calumet & Hecla Bathhouse 1911
- Michigan College of Mines, Chemistry Building 1922
Notes
- Robert O. Christensen, “National Register Nomination: Smith Dengler House,” U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 2007.