06/01/2026
The Tom Navin House stood in massive magnificence for over 80 years at 719 West Maumee Street in Adrian, where the Adrian Church of Christ is now located. Navin, known as the "Boy Mayor" after his election to lead Adrian in 1881 at age 26, began construction that year on his giant villa, which he planned to build for his mother. It wasn't long, however, before it was revealed that Navin had fleeced the city of Adrian out of $150,000 worth of municipal water bonds. The crooked mayor fled Adrian, leaving his house still under construction. He was arrested in New Orleans three years later and brought back to Adrian to face the music. The charismatic Navin, sentenced to ten years in the Jackson state prison, won a pardon from the governor and eventually became a member of the state prison board. His brother Frank Navin served as president of the Detroit Tigers.
While Navin was in prison, his mother sold his house on Maumee Street to satisfy creditors cheated by her son. Adrian businessman Festus Metcalf purchased the mansion and finished its construction. Later it became the home of publisher Thomas Dailey and painter Walter Beyer. In the 1930s H.E. Smith bought the house and used it for his furniture manufacturing business. The house was demolished around 1964 to make room for the new Church of Christ building.
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