ADRIAN — As Paul Plassman walked around the downtowns and historic districts of southern Michigan towns, he would often find himself admiring the architecture around him.
“I was struck by how many beautiful buildings there were, and nobody seemed to notice them,” he said.
Plassman recently published “Southern Michigan’s Castles, Churches and Courthouses,” a 400-page book profiling many of those architectural gems. It’s the end result of almost five years of work for the 2024 Siena Heights University graduate.
Plassman grew up in Medina Township in the southwest corner of Lenawee County. A homeschool graduate, he initially attended Jackson College with the intention of earning a degree in civil engineering. But when he decided to change gears, history was a natural choice. He’s been interested in the topic or so long, he said, that he can’t actually remember a time when it wasn’t a passion of his.
That interest eventually expanded to architecture, and he’d often photograph interesting buildings while walking around historic neighborhoods. He didn’t start out intending to write a book, but after his mother and a few friends suggested it, he started systematically identifying some of the most noteworthy architectural treasures of Lenawee, Hillsdale and Jackson counties.
“I tried to pick out the grandest homes, the grandest churches, kind of the best of the three counties,” he said.
He found some of the buildings using resources like the National Register of Historic places, but “a lot of others I just stumbled across while driving around,” he said.
One of the surprises was the Boies-Stowell House in Hudson. Located on South Church Street, it’s an Italian villa style house built in 1862 that is now an adult foster care residence.
Another favorite of Plassman’s is Helmer Castle in Jackson County’s Liberty Township, built by an eccentric concert violinist in the 1920s. “It’s a secret castle that nobody seems to know about,” Plassman said of the structure, which remained a private residence for many years until it was recently converted into an event center.
Churches feature prominently in the book as well, including St. John’s Episcopal Church in Clinton, one of the oldest surviving churches in Michigan.
A total of 157 buildings are individually profiled in the book, with many more featured in writeups on different historic districts. The book contains more than 700 photos.
Plassman now works at the Lenawee County Historical Museum, digitizing some of the museum’s records.
“Southern Michigan’s Castles, Churches and Courthouses” sells for $60 and may be purchased at the museum, which is at 110 E. Church St., Adrian.
