As a private nonprofit 501c3 organization, Grass Lake Area Historical Society funds all operations through memberships and donations. Donations are fully deductible to the full extent of the law.
The Coe House Museum Board of Directors will once again function under the original (1971) name: "Grass Lake Area Historical Society" whose mission will be to serve the Historical needs of the Grass Lake Community and its families. We look forward to 2021 when the Sesquicentennial celebration for Coe House will be of primary concern when planning our events.
The Coe House Museum Board of Directors will once again function under the original (1971) name: "Grass Lake Area Historical Society" whose mission will be to serve the Historical needs of the Grass Lake Community and its families. We look forward to 2021 when the Sesquicentennial celebration for Coe House will be of primary concern when planning our events.
The Coe House is the home of the Grass Lake Area Historical Society (GLAHS) and has been since 1972. The building itself was constructed in 1871 in the Italianate Tuscan Vernacular style. It was contracted through the Shelly Lumberyard by Henry Vinkle, owner of the furniture and hardware store in Grass Lake at the time. The Vinkles left Grass Lake for the Dakota Territory in 1887. The next known owner was the Detroit, Jackson, and Chicago Railway Corporation, one of two competing interurban lines through Grass Lake, in 1901. The Herman Mellencamp family owned the house from 1909 until 1926, when Catherine Walz purchased it. The front parlor was rented out as a tourist room during her tenure. In 1953 Archie and Myrta Coe bought the home, and it was from Mrs. Coe, by then a widow, that the GLAHS bought the house in 1972 for $12,500. Mrs. Coe was invited to live in the house as long as she wished. It was agreed that the building would be called the Coe House Museum.
Restoration on the house, to convert it from residence to museum, was begun in 1974. The kitchen and bathroom were renovated several years after the living room, dining room, parlor, and downstairs bedroom, and the barn behind the house is the latest part of the property to be “fixed up” and open for viewing since the summer of 2004.
During the past 4 years, major restoration work has been done: exterior windows repaired and painted; eaves installed to control basement moisture problems; repointing of the foundation rock walls and painting of all 1st floor woodwork and floors has brought the building to a maintenance level.
The Coe House Museum is now a designated National Historic Building. Since its founding in 1971, GLAHS has been led by 8 presidents: Jim Stormont; Pat Koiman: Diane Loring; Sam Knecht; Michael Fensler; Marilyn O'Leary; Diane Golka and presently Patricia White Simpson. The duty of administering the Alfreda Foust Scholarship established in 1998 by her daughter, Barbara Longstaff, has been turned over to the Grass Lake Area Scholarship Foundation for administering. This will further enable GLAHS to concentrate on its historical projects, and operation of the Coe House Museum. Hopefully, gathering restrictions will be lifted and we will be able to return to regular days of operation and hosting special events. Both the Village of Grass Lake and The Coe House will be celebrating their Sesquicentennial years in 2021.
See our membership application to view ways you can become a part of GLAHS
Restoration on the house, to convert it from residence to museum, was begun in 1974. The kitchen and bathroom were renovated several years after the living room, dining room, parlor, and downstairs bedroom, and the barn behind the house is the latest part of the property to be “fixed up” and open for viewing since the summer of 2004.
During the past 4 years, major restoration work has been done: exterior windows repaired and painted; eaves installed to control basement moisture problems; repointing of the foundation rock walls and painting of all 1st floor woodwork and floors has brought the building to a maintenance level.
The Coe House Museum is now a designated National Historic Building. Since its founding in 1971, GLAHS has been led by 8 presidents: Jim Stormont; Pat Koiman: Diane Loring; Sam Knecht; Michael Fensler; Marilyn O'Leary; Diane Golka and presently Patricia White Simpson. The duty of administering the Alfreda Foust Scholarship established in 1998 by her daughter, Barbara Longstaff, has been turned over to the Grass Lake Area Scholarship Foundation for administering. This will further enable GLAHS to concentrate on its historical projects, and operation of the Coe House Museum. Hopefully, gathering restrictions will be lifted and we will be able to return to regular days of operation and hosting special events. Both the Village of Grass Lake and The Coe House will be celebrating their Sesquicentennial years in 2021.
See our membership application to view ways you can become a part of GLAHS
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