LOCAL

One of Eaton Rapids' most recognized historic homes on the market for first time in over 40 years

Lansing State Journal

EATON RAPIDS - One of the city's most recognized historic homes, labeled one of the "finest" Gothic Revival homes in the state, is on the market for the first time in more than 40 years.

Eaton Rapids businessman Isaac N. Reynolds built the house at 123 N. East St. in 1866. The home, which sits on more than three acres inside the city, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. It went on the market Friday for the first time in more than 40 years.

It has stood on a hill surrounded by huge oak trees in the 100 block of North East Street for over a century and a half.

Laura DeLong, the real estate agent representing the listing, remembers admiring the house every day as a child when her school bus would pass by the property. Its Gothic Revival style, the pointed arches, and decorative gables with detailed designs reminded her of a gingerbread house.

The kitchen inside 123 N. East St. The home, which sits on more than three acres inside the city, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. It went on the market Friday for the first time in more than 40 years.

"It’s nestled back beneath the trees and the lot is huge," DeLong said. "It’s just not like anything I’ve ever seen or experienced before."

The massive two-story, 3,457-square-foot white home with a long front porch is on more than three acres within the city limits and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

It's listed for $353,000. DeLong is marketing it with a video that harkens back to its mid-1800s roots, featuring a horse and carriage and house guests in period garb.

"We wanted to do something special and different for our marketing because the house is so unique," DeLong said.

A historic property

When State Historic Preservation Officer Samuel Milstein nominated the house for the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, he wrote it was "the finest Gothic revival house encountered thus far by the Michigan site survey."

Eaton Rapids businessman Isaac N. Reynolds built the house at 123 N. East St. in 1866.

"It is felt there may be only a few buildings of this style in the entire state which will rank with it," Milstein wrote. "It definitely is the finest architectural example in Eaton Rapids."

Isaac N. Reynolds built it in the 1860s. The prominent businessman was one of the area's earliest residents, and was responsible for the construction of Eaton Rapids' Red Ribbon Hall, a sober hall, in 1878.

Chad McRee was a teenager when his parents, Jan and Edward McRee, bought the home in 1978.

His father was the president of Ingham Medical Center for nearly 40 years, from the early 1960s to the mid-1990s. Jan McRee was an interior designer, teacher and musician.

She also loved historical homes, he said.

The living room inside 123 N. East St. The home, which sits on more than three acres inside the city, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. It went on the market Friday for the first time in more than 40 years.

"History was really important to her," Chad McRee said. "She worked hard to maintain the historical features of the house."

DeLong said Jan McRee's skill as an interior designer is evident when you walk inside the house on North East Street.

The home's kitchen was updated in the 1990s, she said, but a side entrance to the house was used more than a century ago by carriages making milk deliveries.

"It’s the perfect balance between its history and modern influences," DeLong said. "The things she did… are absolutely gorgeous and still what people would put in their homes today."

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'It's really one of a kind'

DeLong said the marketing video her team put together was inspired by its long history. There are people dressed in period garb inside and outside the house, and a horse and carriage that pulls up to its front.

123 N East St, Eaton Rapids, MI 48827

But the history isn't the property's only selling point, she said.

The house has five bedrooms, three bathrooms, hardwood floors throughout and grand piano that's part of the sale. The lot is much bigger than is typical of a home inside the city limits, DeLong said.

The dining room inside 123 N. East St. The home, which sits on more than three acres inside the city, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. It went on the market Friday for the first time in more than 40 years.

Jan McRee is 89 and downsizing, her son said. Her husband, Edward, died in 2018.

He's hopeful the house will go to a buyer who appreciates its story as much as she does.

"It’s really one of a kind," he said. "We're hoping whoever purchases the home wants to maintain the historic nature of the home and will love it the way all the previous owners have loved that home."

Contact Rachel Greco at rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @GrecoatLSJ.