1206 College Avenue
The original owner of this property never lived in this house, but his son did. - In progress
1206 College Ave. was built in 1910 for Joseph Hodgson, general manager of Gay & Sturgis, a banking and brokerage business based in Boston with a branch office in downtown Houghton. This house was built for him by his father, John C. Hodgson, a local mining captain. John Hodgson owned five and a half lots where 1202 and 1206 College Avenue stood. The lot west of 1202 was not open for sale because Emerald Street was originally supposed to have continued across College Avenue; a city park stands there today. The Hodgson family owned the house at 1202 College Avenue into the 1960s.
The house was built to be 2 ½ stories tall and over 2,000 square feet. It rests on a stone foundation and is one of the rare brick houses on College Avenue, although the brick is a veneer. The interior is floored with pine and hardwood and displays hardwood trimmings. There are two fireplaces, two porches on the front side of the house with one atop of the other, and one porch on the back side. Additionally, the two porches in the front are supported by two white columns and two square columns.
In 1912, James V. Gaul bought the house and lived there with his wife, Margaret, until 1916. A hip roof covers the rather large, 12-room house. In its two and a half stories, the house contains over 2,000 square feet of living space.
Sources: Van Beck, D. (2003, April 28) 1206 College Avenue. Report prepared for SS 3515 History of American Architecture at Michigan Technological University; Historic Houghton Walking Tour (c. 2000); Vernacular Architecture Forum. (2024). 1208 College Ave. North of the Northwoods: From Mines to Motels on Michigan’s Lake Superior (p. 60). photograph.