Thomas J. Anderson house is up for sale

This is the Jones farm house in Southgate, listed with a historical plaque (below), and more familiarly known as the former home of Thomas J. Anderson, first mayor of Southgate (and last supervisor of Ecorse Township), which is up for sale. 

This took me totally by surprise.  If it has been owned by the Anderson family the entire time, why would they be selling it now?  I know the obvious answer might be due to the inevitable economic conditions plaguing us.  What may surprise me more is why the City of Southgate has not acted to place a claim on such a historic property.  It takes the whole lot line from Sycamore (to the south) to Catalpa (on the north) and looks to be a double or triple lot.  The asking price is $199,000 according to the realty listing it.

There have been some accusations, rightfully voiced, that the Detroit area does not place value on historical places:  the old Hudsons building downtown is the first that comes to mind.  While it is understandable that some buildings may have outlived their active usefulness due to their lack of modernity (including locations which need major code upgrades), too often it is found these places are torn down just for the sake of modernization, which is not always the best reasoning.

I say this knowing full-well I jeopardize myself as an impartial blog writer, but since the theme of this blog is indeed paying tribute to places of the past, this should still fit in with that theme quite well.  A home with a layout (and land area) such as this is unique to the entire neighborhood, which appropriately is known as the Old Homestead subdivision.

If anyone has more information on the history of this great structure, please feel free to send me your comments.

I will leave the matter thus:  If a historic structure does find itself on the market, so be it... this is free enterprise... but it would be my hope that the resulting owner does see the inherent good in its status and chooses to keep it as such, allowing for modernization where need be... in order to keep this site in the public view (and public appreciation) for years to come.