The Dr. Henry A. Cleland House — 702 W Canfield St, Detroit, MI 48201

One of the oldest surviving homes within Detroit’s West Canfield District, the Dr. Henry A. Cleland residence at 702 W Canfield St, Detroit, MI 48201 was constructed in 1880 by respected architect Joseph E. Mills for Dr. Henry A. Cleland, a physician at St. Mary’s Hospital and Harper Hospital with offices in the Cleland Building on State Street.

Bolstering the West Canfield District’s early reputation as a respected medical hub, Dr. Henry A. Cleland lived in the 702 W Canfield St residence up until his death – a property adjacent to his father-in-law, William Cowie (President of the Detroit Dry Dock Company), whose now-demolished home was once located on the northeast corner of Canfield and Third.

After his passing in 1911, Dr. Cleland’s residence was passed on to Dr. George Duffield, another early Detroit physician with close ties to the Cowie family through his marriage to Clara W. Cowie, who remained in the home until the early 1920s and upheld its iconic legacy as a residence for influential Detroit medical professionals.

Today, the Dr. Henry A. Cleland House at 702 W Canfield St stands as a key part of West Canfield’s architectural and historical significance – a perfectly preserved reminder of the district’s ties to Detroit’s late-nineteenth-century professional class and a testament to the enduring presence of the Cowie and Cleland families along this storied street.