Stefan T. Vail Cooperative House

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The Stefan T. Vail Cooperative House or Vail House is a housing cooperative located on 602 Lawrence Street in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It provides off-campus housing for University of Michigan, Washtenaw Community College, and Eastern Michigan University students. Vail is a member of the Inter-Cooperative Council.

[edit] History

The building proper was constructed in 1853 and has been recognized by the Ann Arbor Historical Commission; one of the pillars on the front porch bears a plaque which identifies it as the Hubbell Gregory House. Gregory was the original owner of the house and his descendants lived there until 1914. Afterwards it became the residence of the family of Horace Prettyman, who owned the Ann Arbor Press. In 1960 it was purchased by the Inter-Cooperative Council and opened as women's housing cooperative in the Fall of 1961. In addition to being one of the oldest houses in Ann Arbor, Vail House also boasts a magnificent oak tree in its front yard which has been estimated to be over two hundred years old.

Vail House was named for Stefan T. Vail, who was an ICC member and president in the mid-1950's. He studied economics and helped to devise the financial structure of the ICC before leaving Ann Arbor to teach economics at Harvard^[1]. Stefan Vail was killed in Greece in 1958 when he was visiting his family. Soon after, the ICC Board of Directors voted to name the next house they purchased after Vail, in recognition of his contributions to the organization.