In early 1914 developer Charles Spooner planned a subdivision named Scottwood that promised to be: "a group of handsome residences... amid a landscape setting not hitherto attempted...Unlike most additions to the modern city, platted with straight streets and small lots giving scarcely breathing room between the houses, it has winding roads (and) a large garden space... indeed, each house stands on a little knoll, commanding a pleasing view. "Such was the setting for the James Petrie home.
The three story portion of The Ann Arbor City Club was built in 1886 as a farmhouse with wrap-around porch by Evart Scott who in 1868 had come from Ohio to study at the University of Michigan. He stayed in the area, and developed the farmland from Ferdon to Austin into the "Elm Fruit Farm." In 1915 Scott sold most of the farmland to Charles Spooner who hired architect Fiske Kimball to subdivide the land and design and build homes, many of which are still a vibrant part of this area.
In 1915, after the city had annexed the area, Scott sold the bulk of his farmland to Charles Spooner. Spooner subdivided it into building lots and, in collaboration with architect Fiske Kimball, built the elegant homes that still grace the neighborhood. Reminders of the land's earlier owner can be found in the street names Scottwood and Austin (the name of Scott's father, brother, and son) and in a few ancient fruit trees, most of them pear, found in the neighborhood.
