Dr.Ossian Sweet

As I was doing some research on the city I love so much, Detroit, I came across this unique moment in time.

Dr. Ossian Sweet and his wife Gladys bought an $18,500 home at 2509 Garland on June 7. 1925 ($6,000 above market value). A crowd of about 300 whites gathered at Sweet's home on September 9, 1925 as his family moved in.

2509 Garland, Detroit, MI Historical Landmark

Dr. Sweet was prepared, his brother Henry along with 9 of his friends were inside the home with guns. As the crowd began to throw rocks, one broke an upstairs window when 2 shots were fired. Two white men were shot, one in the leg and the other died.
Detroit Police arrested 11 people and charged them with murder. The presiding judge at the time, Frank Murphy, instructed the jury that a house is a man's castle - even if that man is black. All 11 men were free after 46 hours of deliberation, the jury failed to come to a verdict.

Sweet regain possession of the home sometime in mid 1928, it had not been lived in since the shooting. His wife Gladys died shortly after from tuberculosis.

He continued to work for Dunbar Hospital (one of the first black hospitals) and opened other failed clinics for blacks until his health began to decline.

Dunbar Hospital Staff in 1922, then and now photo. It is located at 580 Frederick Street.

Dr. Ossian Sweet died from a self inflicted gun shot wound to the head, March 20, 1960.