We have owned the property since 1997. The original property is part of a piece that was homesteaded as a pig farm in the 1800s and then sold to Chester Drake in 1916. He was sold about 1500 feet of frontage and almost 100 acres for $800. The property was divided and Mr. Drakes family still owns the cottage just to the south of us. They have the original land contract from over 100 years ago. Mr. Drake built a Sears and Roebuck House on the northern part of the property which is 2 doors up from the rental and is still there today. He sold the property for the main house to Mr. Kellyman in the 1960s. You can see that the house has been renovated from a simple cottage to one with a large living room and bunk room. My brothers and sister and I were looking for a vacation cottage in the mid 90s and looked for years for a special place that could accommodate the 6 of us. We had just about given up, but in the summer of 1997, our realtor called us and told us he had the place we would buy.

For us it was love at first site and we closed July 1 of 1997. Over the next few years the 6 of us all got married and had kids. Lots of kids, My parents have 26 grandchildren. With the explosion in family members, we decided to convert the back pole barn into a guest house for expansion in 1999. The neighbor just to the north was also one of Chester Drake's grandchildren, and they were getting older, and sold us their property in 2000. We had those places for 11 years, then we were able to buy the original Sears and Roebuck house and the large timberframe and polebarn that are 2 properties north.

Our mom passed away in November of 2021, the grandkids are getting older, and we don't use the place as much as we would like. It is still our favorite place on earth, and we are glad to share it with others through VRBO.