Ship Captain’s Row

Location: Griffith Street Area, Saugatuck
Date: 1865-1900

Captain Ralph C. Brittain’s house at Griffith and Mason streets (destroyed in 1967) was one of about a dozen ship captain’s houses in the Griffith Street/Hill neighborhood, some of which had views of the harbor. Over 40 ship captains lived at one time or another in the two villages of Saugatuck and Douglas, in houses often built by the same carpenters who plied their trade in the Saugatuck boatyards. A listing and map of these houses may be found in the book Raising the Roof, A History of the Buildings and Architecture of the Saugatuck and Douglas Area.