Oakland Township's historic Main House gets restoration

metromode, 4/9/2009

The historic Main House in Oakland Township is about to undergo a restoration that should bring it back to its golden years of the mid-19th Century.

Stephen Auger + Associates is beginning with interior restoration work of the 2,000-square-foot house. That includes intricate plaster work and an Arts and Crafts-style fireplace. Work on the whole house in the Cranberry Lake Farms historic district is expected to wrap up by this summer.

"The renovation has been piecemeal over the years," says Christopher Aller, the firm's principal. "We're trying to pull it all together."

The Greek Revival-style house was built in 1840 by the Axford, Taylor and Kline families that farmed the land until 1908. Arts and Crafts-style additions were added in the early part of the 20th Century. It became the summer home of former U.S. Congressman and oil executive Howard Aldridge Coffin between 1939 and 1951.

The historic district is inside the 233-acre Cranberry Lake Park. The house is now vacant but the township is deciding whether to turn it into a museum or some sort of other public use.

Source: Christopher Aller, principal of Stephen Auger + Associates
Writer: Jon Zemke