Adelia Cheever House

The first Cheever House, located at 516 East Madison Ave., was opened as a women's residence in 1921. Originally occupied by Judge Noah Cheever and his wife Adelia, it was conveyed to the university upon the death of Ms. Cheever's sister, Pamela Noble. In December of the same year, Professor E.C. Goddard and other alumni offered to purchase the adjoining lot and provide more housing for women. The regents later donated the building at 619 Haven Ave (the future site of the University High School), and this structure was moved to the new lot. Renamed the Pamela Noble cottage, this resituated building housed twelve women, while the Cheever House roomed twenty-five. In 1949, both structures were razed to make way for the South Quadrangle. In 1947 however, the university had purchased the home of Walter Mack for $55,000. Opened in the fall of 1949, the building was designated as the new Adelia Cheever House. The new building was made of brick and, like the original structure, set well back from the street. The upper floors housed twenty-nine women, while a large dormitory room slept several more.

Source: The University of Michigan: An Encyclopedic Survey; Walter A. Donnelly, Wilfred B. Shaw, and Ruth W. Gjelsness, editors; Ann Arbor : University of Michigan Press, 1958.