In 1883, Dearborn’s McFadden-Ross family turned this simple powder magazine into one of Dearborn’s most unique homes.
Hours:
Monday-Friday, 9am-4:30pm
915 S. Brady Street, Dearborn, MI 48124
Admission:
Free
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The main entrance to the McFadden-Ross house on Brady Street. 
A plaque dedicated by the Dearborn Historical Commission sits near the main entrance to the McFadden-Ross house. 
The Michigan Avenue side of the McFadden-Ross house once featured its main entrance. Today, this area features lush gardens, a patio, and a sweeping view of Michigan Avenue. 
A vent from the original powder magazine can still be viewed on the Michigan Avenue side of the McFadden-Ross house. 
This keystone once stood above the main entrance to the McFadden-Ross house. Today, you can find it on the Michigan Avenue side of the house.
Known today as the McFadden-Ross House, the original building was constructed in 1839 as the powder magazine for the Detroit Arsenal at Dearbornville-located several blocks from the main Arsenal campus (Commandant’s Quarters) as a safety measure.
Learn more about the McFadden-Ross Family and their home below.
Timeline of the McFadden-Ross House
1839
The Detroit Arsenal at Dearbornville was built between 1833 and 1837 in the center of what is today known as downtown Dearborn.
The powder magazine was already under construction in August of 1839. Built with wood from Detroit and bricks that were made onsite by Titus Dort, it began housing powder in August of 1842.
1875
After the Civil War, the federal government cut back on funding, maintenance, and repair. Rumors soon began to fly which inferred that the Detroit Arsenal would soon close.
On March 3, 1875 those rumors became true and the Dearbornville Arsenal closed. The land of the former Arsenal, including the powder magazine, was sold to the public.
1883
Nathaniel and Elizabeth Ross purchased lot 146 of the Detroit Arsenal grounds in 1883. They soon turned the former powder magazine into a farm house.
They remodeled it by adding windows, doors, and walls. After completion, they were officially moved in by 1884.
The house underwent several more renovations between 1921 and 1924 when the family decided to add bedrooms, bathrooms, a kitchen, a basement, three porches, and some dormers on the roof.
1950-1956
The McFadden-Ross Family lived here for nearly seven decades. Mary Elizabeth “Lizzie” Ross, the daughter of Elizabeth and Nathaniel Ross, willed the house to the City of Dearborn upon her death in 1950.
After several years of renovation, the McFadden-Ross House opened as part of the Dearborn Historical Museum in October, 1956.
Today
Today, the McFadden-Ross House serves many purposes for the Dearborn Historical Museum. It is open to the public for tours and has several rotating exhibit spaces.
It also acts as the Museum’s primary event space with a large meeting area. A schoolhouse room in the basement is featured in the Museum’s Pioneer School Program for local second graders. Additionally, the Museum’s gift shop is located in the McFadden-Ross House and the upper floor contains the Museum’s archives for the City of Dearborn.
The McFadden-Ross Family
The McFadden-Ross Family
The Ross family proved obstinate to some. In one particular instance, Nathaniel Ross would develop a feud with Henry Ford over their property, land that Ford very much wanted to purchase. Nathaniel, unsatisfied by the price that was offered, refused to sell resulting in the eventual nicknaming of their house as the one “House That Henry Ford Couldn’t Buy.”
In other confrontations, the Ross family employed lawyers to block the extension of Garrison Street on their property and used a shotgun to stop the building of a sewer. To build a gas station on Michigan Ave, they charged the owner rent and then later struck a deal that in case of an emergency or for friendly company, Lizzie would signal the gas station through a light in her parlor.
Lizzie and her brother Lytle were both known to be irritable in their older age but both were said to be devoted and kind to those who were on their good side.
Learn more about the McFadden-Ross family members who lived here below
Uncle Michael McFadden(1802-1871)
Michael McFadden was born in Ireland and later came to America with his wife Elizabeth in the 1850’s. Together, the couple ran a small general store, saving money up over time to buy a 120 acre farm near Michigan Ave. and Telegraph road. In the 1850’s, Michael’s niece Elizabeth Wilson McFadden came from Ireland to live with them. In 1863, they sold their general store (shown on the left) and farmed full-time.
Nathaniel Ross (1825-1918)
Nathaniel Ross was born in Ireland in 1825. He and his brother immigrated to America in the 1850’s where he would soon meet Elizabeth Wilson McFadden and marry her in 1859. Nathaniel Ross was a tall man with a long flowing beard, a cane, and the inability to approach a conversation with negativity. He worked tirelessly to convert the powder magazine into a home for his family. He passed away at the age of 93 in 1918.
Elizabeth Wilson McFadden Ross (1837-1900)
Elizabeth was born in Ireland in 1837, she was orphaned at a young age and eventually went to live with her uncle, Michael McFadden, in her teens.
After marrying Nathaniel Ross, the couple went on to have seven children. Elizabeth was instrumental in the purchase of the powder magazine. She would later pass away at the age of 63 in the year 1900.
James Lytle Ross (1863-1947)
Born December 4th, 1863, James Lytle was the brother of Lizzie. He grew up farming with his father on their property. He would later marry Mary Eliza Long in 1893. Unfortunately, tragedy would strike leaving him both wife and childless. Their death resulting in his return to live with Lizzie, where Lytle resided until his death on December 3rd, 1947.
In his life, he raised numerous animals such as pigs, pheasants, chickens, horses and even had a garden. He enjoyed a drink every now and then and even had a secret stash of hard cider in the basement.
Mary Elizabeth “Lizzie” Ross (1866-1950)
Lizzie Ross was born July 24th, 1866 and was the fourth child of Nathaniel and Elizabeth Ross. After her mother’s death, Lizzie managed the Ross properties and partly made a living by selling excess real estate including a portion of their farmland in 1906.
While Lizzie could be strong-willed and fierce at times, she also showed a lighter side when tending to her beloved white lilies and mums. This, she kept as her own little joy. She also had many animals that she took care of including her collie dogs, 10 cats, and a 700 pound pig. When she wasn’t looking after her animals she also enjoyed baking sugar cookies and making peanut brittle.
When the time came to decide what to do with the property, she stated that she
“wanted to do something useful with it.”
When she died in 1950, it was willed to the City of Dearborn to become the McFadden-Ross Museum.