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Acme Parkland: Historic Home Or Uninterrupted Lakefront Vista?

Other episodes in this series: 
IPR News Features
Date: 
December 6, 2011

By Tom Carr

Acme Township is trying to decide if founder Leonard Hoxsie's house is historical enough to be saved.

The tan Victorian home, built in the 1870s, is on land designated as a beachfront park. Some say it's a valuable link to the past, while others want it gone to make for more green space.

"A few people have told me that their level of frustration about this has led them to withdraw pledges and that they won't be giving any future gifts to the project," said Megan Olds of Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy.

The conservancy, which helped the township purchase the land, doesn't take a position on the fate of the home. The township's long-term hope is to have a mile of uninterrupted public beachfront between U.S. 31 and East Grand Traverse Bay.

Others say the home, built by Hoxsie who operated a busy saw mill and mapped out local streets, should be used as an information center or concession stand.

The house has floors and banisters made of wood from the area's lumber boom and is one of few remaining historical buildings in Acme, said Dorothy Dunville, township clerk and secretary of Acme Heritage Society.

"People drive by it all the time and say how adorable it is and how wonderful it is to have that old house there," she said. "Take that away and it's going to be really blank there."

The township board will discuss the issue tonight and decide the home's fate early next year after studying its historical significance.

Community Discussion Rules
See More: Acme, Acme townhip, Grand Traverse Bay, historic, historical, park

Comments

Seriously? Tear Down the Hoxie House?

Submitted by Sharon (not verified) on December 6, 2011 - 5:07pm.
What more studying does the township have to do on the historical significance of the home. It's one of the last remaining connections to the past of Acme. There's one historical reference point. It was built by the founding father of Acme, Leonard Hoxie. That would be a second historical reference point. It was built with materials that were manufactured at a saw mill that existed in Acme Township. That would be a third historical reference. Talk about a valuable historic lesson that one could teach the upcoming students all around Grand Traverse County. Slowly, year by year, our country forgets where we've come from, where we've been and what we've learned from those journeys along the way. Tear this down and we have yet again, removed valuable lessons for people at every level in our society. Use it as a learning station along the way in a valuable history lesson about the county or even at the state level for that matter. In 5th grade, students study the history of Michigan. A stop at the house could be a valuable field trip for students studying our state. It's time for the board to come out of the ether in Acme Township and realize what an absolute GEM you have in the Hoxie home. Utilize it to bring economic advantages to the Township. Don't look at it as a useless piece of property that you can just erase from the land. There is a lot to be gained from keeping the property and advancing the township. "Those who fail to acknowledge their history are doomed to repeat it" over and over again. If you tear this house down, there's virtually nothing left of Acme Township's history.

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