Downtown Three Rivers Commercial Historic District
The Downtown Three Rivers Commercial Historic District is a commercial historic district located along North Main Street, between Michigan and Portage Avenues, in Three Rivers, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. History. The original section of Three Rivers, including what is now the downtown and some surrounding residential areas, was platted in 1836 by John H. Bowman. This location immediately began to serve as the commercial center of the settlement, with modest wooden buildings constructed along what is now Main Street as early as the 1830s. A  number of mills were constructed in the area in the 1830s and 1840s, and in 1851 the Lockport Hydraulic Company was formed to dam the river and construct a power canal. This was followed in 1853 by the construction of a railroad line through the village. As a result, Three Rivers boomed in the latter half of the 19th century, with a wave of new construction starting in the 1850s. The oldest extant buildings in the district are the Kelsey block at 39-43 N. Main (built in 1854), the Whitesell and McMurtrie block at 109 Portage (built in 1859 ), and the 1861 block at 18 N. Main. Further construction filled the downtown in the 1860s, 70s, and 80s. These buildings were constructed almost exclusively by local investors, primarily merchants. Seven of the commercial blocks, however, were built by farmer Isaac Null over the period of 1863-1886. In 1884, Null also built his house, located within the district at 105 W. Michigan. The downtown area remains one of the most intact nineteenth and early twentieth-century downtowns in southwest Michigan Description. The Downtown Three Rivers Commercial Historic District contains all the structures remaining from Three Rivers' late 19th century  commercial center. The district contains 48 structures, including one residence, the former public library, and 46 one- to three-story commercial buildings. The commercial buildings are predominantly Commercial Italianate structures, and are set side by side and directly on the sidewalk. The visually unified and harmonious Late Victorian streetscape gives the district its character. Significant buildings include: