Healthy Home Assessments in Saline

Saline at ground level

Salt-spring mill town south of Ann Arbor with a preserved farm museum, a Welsh sister city, and a walkable Michigan Avenue downtown. One local marker: Named for the salt springs French explorers found in the 1600s, and host of the Saline Celtic Festival since 1996. Counts run to 9,100 residents in 3,891 or so households. The Saline Reporter newspaper operated from 1874 until 2014.

The building stock

Of units counted in 2023, 65.6% are detached single-family homes and 69.9% of occupied units are owner-occupied. Some 56.7% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. The building record here reaches back to 1870, and an older envelope moves air and holds moisture on its own terms. One landmark on the ground here: Davenport House (Curtis Mansion) to an 1875 Second-Empire frame mansion.

Water at Wales Saline River changes what humidity does, so moisture and condensation get the longest look.

Ground that fixes Saline on the map:

• Rentschler Farm Museum. 216-acre homestead farmed by four generations of Rentschlers from 1901 to 1998, preserved with the farmhouse and eleven outbuildings since 1999.
• Davenport-Curtiss House. 1875 Second Empire mansion by Detroit architect William Scott, a downtown landmark.
• Saline salt springs heritage. The salt springs French explorers found in the 1600s gave the river and city their name, 'salty' in French.
• Saline Celtic Festival. Annual festival begun in 1996 for the 30th anniversary of the sister-city bond with Brecon, Wales.
• Saline River greenways. River corridor parkland through the historic mill town.

Streets and settlements

Mail runs through the 48176 ZIP code. Notable natives include tennis pro Lisa Bonder, fiddler/composer Jeremy Kittel, and aviator Ann Pellegreno, who in 1967 recreated Amelia Earhart's around-the-world flight.