Criffield-Whiteley House
Inscription
Businessman and farmer Charles M. Criffield (1867-1929) and his wife, Cora, (1865-1945) built this Queen Anne-style house in 1897. Fred Corber managed the construction. In 1920 the Criffields sold the house to Ethel and Harry H. Whiteley. Elected to the Michigan House of Representatives in 1914, Mr. Whiteley moved his family from the northeastern Lower Peninsula to Dowagiac in 1915 in order to buy into and manage the Dowagiac Daily News. The building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
[Back]: Harry H. Whiteley (1882-1957) used his successful Dowagiac newspaper and his position as member of the Michigan Senate (1923-26) and the Michigan Conserva-tion Commission (1927-48) to shape Michigan’s public land policy. He advocated for Warren Dunes and many other state parks. Sara Ethel (1882-1975), a founding member of the Captain Samuel Felt Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, led the chapter’s efforts to honor veterans of World War II with a memorial highway and park.
Location
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