05/24/2021
Happy Monday! We thought it would be fun to share some history of what locals used to call "The Hobbit House". It is now run as an airbnb , with 6 units that we rent out for guests to stay in and 2 permanent tenants. We are currently working on improvements to the building, as it is a historic 1800's house.
A Brief History of 76 North Street:
Built before the Civil War, 76 North Street has had many owners and seen many occupants come and go. Perhaps the most illustrious owner-occupant was Merton Fitzpatrick. Although we don't know many details of his life, we do know he attended Hillsdale College, became an attorney, then city solicitor for Hillsdale, then a judge. As an attorney he routinely practiced before the Michigan Supreme Court. Perhaps his most important accomplishment was that he was one of the founders of the original Republican Party which had its first convention in Jackson Michigan in 1854, organized by a small group of men who were opposed to slavery.
76 North was divided into 2 parts; the west side of the building was used for law offices for Fitzpatricks firm and the east side was the family's home. There were 2 parallel stairways in the center of the building going to the second floor, one for the business, and one for the home. In the late 1930's or early '40s a developer purchased the building, removed one of the stairways and converted the building into an 8 unit apartment building. Over the years the building fell into disrepair and was disrespected and eventually became the subject of rumors and ridicule and eventually the object of vandalism and abuse.
The present owners bought and rescued the property in 2006 and began slowly refurbishing and restoring the apartments, then renting them one by one. Most of the income went for repairs, maintenance and preservation and still does. Except for a grant from the city of Hillsdale for $9500.00( for which we are very grateful) all work on the building has been accomplished with private savings and earnings from the building itself so progress is slow, but steady.
What started out as a business investment has become a labor of love. Please realize that 76 North is almost 200 years old. It has withstood vandalism and neglect, and even ridicule and is still standing. The owners have been working on saving the building for 13 years, and there are still areas which haven't even been touched, so please be kind to this old House! It has served well and even served a role in American History and is now "A WORK IN PROGRESS!" Today six of the eight rental units are reserved for short term guests and the other two are occupied by long term tenants who love and understand old houses.
