Historic Boston-Edison District

A couple drives by a home in Boston-Edison in the 1920s. Boston-Edison is actually three subdivision put together. The bulk of the district's 900 homes were built between 1905 and 1925. Two-thirds of the district is located west of M-10.

Children play outside at a home in Boston-Edison in the 1920s.

Henry and Clara Ford lived in their Boston-Edison home from 1908 to 1915. The 6,500 square foot house was later converted into a church before preservationists Jerald and Marilyn Mitchell bought it in the 1980s and restored it back into a single family home.

An old photo shows Clara and Henry Ford on their porch on Edison.

Construction of the first Boston-Edison subdivision, built by Edward Voight, started around 1904. Voigt set the standard for the entire neighborhood with upscale boulevards, standard setbacks on houses and strict standards on size and quality, said neighborhood archivist Jerald Mitchell.

Viola Spraggins, a seamstress and beautician originally from Memphis, Tennessee, bought her home with her sister in Boston-Edison in 1952. She's standing in front of the house in 1956 with her niece Mary Walton on the porch.

Viola Spraggins, top right, stands with her husband Charlie Davie in front of the fireplace in Spraggins' home in Boston-Edison on their wedding day in 1956.

Spraggins' great niece, Michelle May, stands in front of the family house, which May now shares with her husband, brother and mother.

May holds a photo of her parents on their wedding day, also taken in front of the fireplace in the living room in their Boston-Edison home.