What you may not have known about English Inn's rich history

EATON RAPIDS — The 17-room mansion was once the dream home of Oldsmobile president Irving Reuter and his wife, Janet.

It's now the English Inn, a 10,000-square-foot bed and breakfast, that sits on 16 acres in Eaton Rapids with the Grand River at its back door.

"This property has such a rich history," said managing partner Erik Nelson.

It used to house lavish parties and galas 

The Reuters dubbed the 1927 Tudor Revival home Medovue and threw lavish parties and galas at the estate until 1936, when they sold the property to Charles Holden, vice president in charge of sales for Motor Wheel Corp.

In 1940, the home was sold to the Roman Catholic Church. The Most Rev. Joseph H. Albers, the first bishop of the Diocese of Lansing, used the home as his private residence. The surrounding farm and farm buildings were retained by the previous owners.

By 1950, the house was Cupertino College for Franciscan Friars and in 1956, it opened as the Youth Unlimited Foundation for exceptional children.

"My uncle, who became an engineer for General Motors, took science and math classes here in the 1950s," Nelson said. "My mom remembers being a young kid, driving down here with my grandma to drop off my uncle Al."

C.J. and Millie Sumner bought the property from R.C. Brenner in 1962. They called it Storybook Acres and made it an extension of their convalescent home. They later renamed it Ivy Manor. 

Dusty Rhodes, local entrepreneur and owner of Dusty's Cellar and Dusty's Wine Bar, bought the property in 1990, and it became Dusty's English Inn.

You may not be prepared for the beauty inside

Erik Nelson's parents, Gary and Donna Nelson, bought the inn in 1996. He took it over in 2011.

"We bought it in 1996 and really grew it as a restaurant," Nelson said.

Even after entering the wrought iron gates and glimpsing the ivy-wrapped slate-roofed building, visitors may not be prepared for the beauty inside.

A grand staircase which splits at the top leads to rooms for overnight guests.

The first floor holds four dining rooms, the largest of them built from Honduran mahogany. You can follow the grain through every wood panel, all the way around. It's all built from one tree.

The original dining room is called the Midford. Table lamps have chandelier-type ornaments hanging from them.

"We’ve done a lot to track down unique little antiques to complement the space," Nelson said.

The bottom level of the inn is home to Dicken's Pub, named after Charles Dickens. The pub has a warm, casual feel with leather chairs.

"This is my favorite spot," Nelson said. "We have a casual menu down here. We do fish and chips, shepherd’s pie, and we’ve got an outstanding burger with brie and sauteed mushrooms.

"The theme is just classic British pub, and I feel like we’ve really nailed it with that feel. It really does feel like an authentic English pub."

A library with a wood-burning fireplace is a little further down the hallway.

Hanging on the hallway walls are framed Wine Spectator Awards of Excellence. The English Inn has been a recipient for more than 20 years in a row. The Inn has more than 200 different selections of wine.

The Inn has a total of 20 overnight rooms, six of them in the main building. 

The Windsor was the master bedroom and belonged to Irving Reuter. There's a rose marble fireplace and pictures of Queen Elizabeth II. A gold teacup from the queen's coronation sits on display.

"We believe that all of the tile in the home is Flint Faience tile," Nelson said. "A lot of people have said they think its Pewabic, but Irving Reuter used Flint Faience to kiln the spark plugs. He was originally in charge of Remy Electric Motor which became AC Delco."

In the guest room known as "The Bath," which is also the smallest room in the Inn, you enter through the bathroom is done in a mint green color. You then go into what was originally the summer sleeping quarters for the home.

"The Bishop, when he owned this home, chose this as his bedroom, to be modest," Nelson said. "And there’s a cross embellished in the ceiling above the bed."

"The Brighton," done in shades of yellow, gold and black, has a bathroom which is all black and yellow. The bathroom was added when the homeowners did a remodel somewhere around 1938. It is cantilevered off the side of the house.

"The Somerset," which was Janet Reuter's master bedroom, is done is lavenders. There's a king size four poster bed and the bathroom has an original stained glass window and a ceiling covered with bird-patterned wallpaper.  

The grounds also are home to the Honeysuckle cottages, the Ivy cottage and the Croquet cottages.

The Honeysuckle cottage, remodeled this year, '"was a farmhouse that we believe actually predated the main home," Nelson said.

"Our understanding is that this farmhouse used to be a two-story house, but the top level burned at some point," he said. "It's been reconstructed who knows how many times throughout its history."

Five individual guest rooms make up the Honeysuckle cottage — the Bristol, the Cambridge, the Cotswold, the Stratford and the Essex. The rooms have a more modern feel.

There are vintage doors from the main home and a number of antique pieces on the walls. The hardwood floor was found beneath several layers of other flooring.

"We kind of designed these rooms to be able to be like entertainment suites a little bit," Nelson said. "You‘ve got your sectional sofa, wet bar, plenty of open room."

The Ivy cottage is the most popular room, Nelson says. It was redone two years ago.

It was the milking house when the property was a working farm. The floor is all original.

"We think it's birdseye maple," Nelson said. "But we had to take so many layers of flooring off this and use a dark stain. It’s a neat rich character to it."

The Croquet cottages were built in 2013. There are eight individual guest rooms, each themed after the different colors of the croquet set and all overlooking the croquet court and the Grand River.

"People do actually play croquet," Nelson said. "We keep a professional set down there." 

Contact Vickki Dozier at (517) 267-1342 or vdozier@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @vickkiD.