Character attracted Leif Batell and his wife Nicole Steele to Clarkston’s N. Main Street.
The couple purchased the historic Queen Anne-style home in February for around $170,000. Proceeds from the sale go to the Clarkston Community Historical Society and Heritage Museum.
‘We were just driving by and we saw the for-sale sign and it just brought my wife back to all the times she spent here and we toured it,” Batell said. “She really likes the character of the house and the fact that it’s not just new without personality, but we’re going to work to make it ours. It’s not cookie cutter.?
Steele is familiar with the house because her father used to house sit and cut the lawn when the previous owner, Barb Thomson, traveled.
They want to preserve the history of the house, Batell said.
‘We don’t want to modernize it or take away from every reason that we bought it,? Batell said.
There are different rooms in the house that show the history of the house such as a hat room, maid’s quarters and a parlor.
‘One thing about it is that it’s fun. It’s not a predictable house,? Batell said.
Thomson, the previous owner of the house, was a long-time Clarkston resident and avid CCHS supporter. With help from her son Richard, she donated the home to the historical society last fall with the understanding that its sale would help fund the historical society’s mission of bringing local history to the residents of Clarkston and Independence Township.
The Thomson family has lived in the house since the 1950s. When CCHS took the house it was in great condition, and Thomson had taken very good care of it, Kolhagen said. ‘It was remarkable the state of preservation it was in,? she said.
Kelly Crawford, CCHS publicity chair, said they put the house on the market close to Oct. 1, and that’s when they cleaned and prepared the house for sale. Since there was an estate sale earlier in the year, there were no furnishings in the house.
The house was built around the time frame of 1904 to 1906, which makes the house a late Victorian, Crawford said. The exact date the house was built in not known because not all records from the turn of the century are accurate or available.
The sale of the house was possible with help from the community. Several Clarkston businesspeople donated their professional services to maximize the sale proceeds. Pam Morgan of Morgan and Milzow Real Estate in Clarkston as well as attorney Neil Wallace donated their time and services.
Other local businesses donating their services include Smith Disposal and Recycling and Touch of Glass.