The William G. Thompson House Museum and Gardens in Hudson is a Queen Anne-style home retaining all of its original features since being built more than 100 years ago, and it is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Until March 31, the museum will showcase a Smithsonian exhibit called “The Way We Worked,” which follows the progression of industry and labor in the United States. The Thompson House is one of only five locations in Michigan to display the exhibit.
The museum has been preserved by the William G. Thompson Foundation as a result of Thompson wanting future generations to appreciate the house and its historical features. He first tried to give the house to the state of Michigan, but he didn’t like the proposed plans for it, so the foundation was established in 2004 to operate the museum instead.
“This is his last gift to the community,” Thompson House Curator Ray Lennard said.
The commitment to preserving the Thompson House in its original form is evident through its many original appliances and largely unaltered physical condition.
The original coal stove sits next to a modern electric stove, the kitchen table is still cluttered with the papers that Thompson left there the day he died, and his closet still holds his clothes, unmoved for years.
Generations of clothing, appliances, furniture, and artwork coexist in one house, said Kathy Malnar, Thompson House board member.
“Visitors get a snapshot of what life was like in the house from the 1800s through the 1900s,” she added.
The Thompson House brims with collections of china, paintings, and figurines, all of which have been appraised and documented, but even Malnar, who has spent seven years volunteering there, hasn’t seen everything.
“Every time I go in, something catches my eye that I never knew was there before,” Malnar said.
The Thompson House was constructed by Gamaliel Ingham Thompson, G.I. for short, and his wife Sophia Thompson. Gamaliel Thompson built the 5,000 square foot house made of red oak and cherry wood for $6,500.
“G.I. came to Hudson because it was a big town that was easy to get employment,” Lennard said. “When G.I. first came to Hudson this was the Western Frontier of America, the trains didn’t go any further.”
G.I. and his two brothers moved to Hudson together. They left to serve in the Civil War and then opened a local bank that stayed in the family for three generations when they returned.
“The oldest brother ends up in Washington, D.C. and gets a presidential appointment because of his connections in the Civil War. The youngest brother ends up in St. John, Kansas, and starts another bank, but G.I. is the one that stays here and runs the daily operations,” Lennard said.
The house and bank were handed down from G.I. to his son, William R. Thompson, then to his son, William G. Thompson, who died in the late 1990s without any children. United Bank of Trust bought the bank in the early 1990s, according to Lennard.
Lennard, along with a group of volunteers, performs the daily operations to maintain the house. While the museum has an endowment, it relies heavily on community help and volunteers to stay open.
The foundation, apart from house and garden tours, hosts events like the Smithsonian exhibit for the community to attend. Other events include, “Lost Artist,” where the community brings antiques for a free appraisal, and gardening and painting classes.
According to Lennard, the foundation is very involved in the Hudson community, but many visitors come from much farther away to take advantage of the museum.
“It amazing the different states and countries visitors have come from,” Malnar said. “The home is such a treasure for the community to have.”