Kinsley S. Bingham

At age 25, Kinsley Bingham left his New York home in 1833 declaring, "Give me $500 and let me go to Michigan and I'll be governor in two years." He settled here and built this Greek Revival house in 1842. His ambition proved well founded: he was elected to the legislature in 1836 and served five terms, then represented Michigan as a U.S. Congressman from 1847 to 1851. Firmly opposed to slavery, he left the Democratic Party over the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. At Jackson's "Under the Oaks" convention of 1854, the Republican Party chose him as its candidate for governor, and six months later he took office as the nation's first Republican governor. Reelected in 1856, he was chosen U.S. Senator in 1859 and died here on October 5, 1861.

Michigan · United States