Fred Rider was the grandson of Captain Ira Rider, an early settler in 1831 and the township's first postmaster in 1832. An early road map of Washtenaw County from 1839 shows only one location in the township, "Riders." Around 1900, Fred Rider, an excellent carpenter, built this house with virgin white pine brought by horse and wagon from Frederic near Grayling in northern Michigan. Its cut stone foundation and exterior construction remain unaltered. Fred Rider was in charge of a sawmill in Salem, maintained the pumping station for the Pere Marquette Railroad's steam locomotives, and was active in community affairs, helping build the Township Hall next door in 1908.