Walking Tour-114/116 North Main Street-Walking Tour
(East Side of Street)

The original house on this lot was probably built, circa 1870, for J. R. Vliet. No pictures of the original house are available. In 1896 Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Jefferson owned the property. According to an item in the 5/12/1904 issue of the Oakland Post, "Mr. and Mrs. J. Reese moved Sunday to their residence recently vacated by John Carson. Mr. Reese is making extensive repairs on the house now occupied by Mr. Jefferson." Mrs. Jefferson died in 1904 at the age of 74. Her daughter, Mrs. Joseph Reese died a month later. The 7/28/1904 issue of the same newspaper reported " Frank Beardsley is finishing the inside of the Reese residence on north Main street and is also putting on a forty foot front porch on the front. The house was started some time ago but was delayed by the death of Mrs. Reese some weeks ago. Mr. Beardsley intends finishing in two weeks." It would seem from these items that the Jeffersons and John Carson, followed by the Reeses lived in the same house. Jefferson, then Joseph Reese owned the property and all of the property to the north as far as Clarkston Rd. for the next couple of years. However It is believed that the large square two story wood clapboard structure was remodeled in the 1920s to accomodate two families. Perhaps the Reese's occupied the houseThe Classical Revival style porch was probably an addition from this date. There were two entrance doors side by side under the porch roof. The wide staircase to the second floor was halved.

In the 1990s the house was returned to single family use. A porch on the rear of the house was remodeled & expanded.

Official Property Description:

• Part of the northwest corner of the Southeast 1/4 of Section 20 in Independence Township, not a part of Nelson W. Clark's Original Plat of the Village.
• Lot 53 of Supervisor's Plat No.1.

Significant Property History:

[A Synopsis Of Property Transfers Derived From Abstracts
(when available) And Periodic Changes In Ownership Or
Assessed Value Derived From Township Tax Records]

• Note: All the properties currently located in the Historic District were originally part of a tract registered by Butler Holcomb with the federal government on October 22, 1831. Thus, abstracts for these properties, when they exist, show the original transfer to be from the United States to Butler Holcomb and may also include references to then President Andrew Jackson.
• 1832 Butler Holcomb.
• 1837 Jeremiah Clark.
• 1849 Nelson W. Clark, the west part of the west 1/2 of the Southeast 1/4 of Section 20, assessed value $150.
• 1850 Joel Griffith, the norh part of the west 1/2 of the Southeast 1/4 of section 20, assessed value $175.
• 1857 J. Harris, the north part of the Southeast 1/4.
• 1861 Mary Ann Harris - from Clarkston Rd. south to Cochran, assessed value $800.
• 1862 J. R. Vliet, assessed value $800.
• 1872 Map of the Village shows a square building on this site, owner J.R. Vliet, assessed value $600.
• 1885 as above.
• 1896 Edwin Jefferson (Note: Dr. C. G. Robertson is shown for a piece south of the house).
• 1904 Edwin Jefferson, north & east by G. Stevens, south by the highway, west by Vliet & C. G. Roberston, assessed value $700.
  Joseph Reese & Nettie Reese from C. G. Robertson north to Clarkston Rd, assessed value $1300.
  Mrs. Nettie Reese, north and west by the Street, south and east by C. G. Robinson, assessed value $1100. !905 Edwin Jefferson died.
• 1906 J. Reese, the house site, assessed value $1500.
• 1909 Byron Beardslee, assessed value $1500.
• 1915 Byron Beardsleem assessed value $2200.
• 1923 John & Margery DeLind.
• 1940 as above.