1st home (destroyed by fire in 1889)

2nd home built on same site 

Dwight Cutler had a home here that was destroyed in the fire of 1889. He rebuilt, and around 1900 his estate, consisting of a home, carriage house, and stables, extended from the corner of Third and Washington Streets quite a distance to the east. The carriage house was converted to a home and occupied by Dr. Edward Hofma in the early 1900s. People’s Bank was organized in the winter of 1910 and occupied space at 220 Washington while its new office building was being completed that year on this site. Dentist John Mieras moved from 214 Washington to the second floor of this building in 1917. In 1977 the bank razed the adjacent Kinkema Furniture and Braak’s Bakery to make room for expansion and parking. Three years later the original bank building was expanded and completely remodeled. NBD/National Bank of Detroit took over People’s Bank in the 1980s, followed by Bank One in the late 1990s.

The Henry Griffin family lived at this site, and the house, built around 1844, was still occupied by a Griffin as late as 1908. The house was slightly damaged in the 1889 fire. The 1882 History of Muskegon and Ottawa Counties claimed that one of Rix Robinson’s trading posts was located on this parcel of land. Griffin, born in Canada in 1807, came to Grand Haven in 1838. He was elected Sheriff in 1844, became Superintendent of Schools in 1851, and in 1871 he was elected Mayor. He also had been County Clerk and owned a drugstore on the northwest corner of First and Washington Streets. The two-story house on Franklin, built in what was then the woods about 1844, was remodeled and later torn down to make room for a parking lot for the adjoining bank.

The home of Great Lakes sea captain William R. Loutit was built at the northwest corner of Washington and Fourth Streets in 1894. Architect W. A. Nethercot of Austin, Illinois, designed it along the lines of the A. J. Ward home in Flint. It was three stories high, with large rooms, high ceilings, multiple fireplaces, a ballroom, game room, and living quarters for the servants. The house was carpeted throughout. The Loutits had been living with the captain’s in-laws, Robert and Elizabeth Howlett, at 704 Pennoyer. Captain Loutit vacated the home in 1915 when he built the “Scots Cottage” next door and his son, William H. Loutit, moved into the family home from 114 South Fifth. William H. lived here until his death in 1948. His son, named William R. Loutit in honor of his grandfather, lived in the house a short time before moving to the Savidge home in Spring Lake. Del Schuiteman bought the home to house the Grand Haven Real Estate office and as his residence. He sold the property to the Sun Oil Company, who tore it down around 1959 to make room for a Sunoco Gas Station. Schuiteman moved to 325 Washington. Prior to the Loutits’ ownership, the residence of Hiram Potts had been located here. It was destroyed in the fire of 1889. The service station was razed in July, 1999, along with the Scot’s Cottage next door to make room for the Grand Haven Bank.

Named for John Mulligan, who settled with his wife and children on ten acres of land east of Five Mile Hill, this “hollow” became the outdoor recreation center of the region. The Mulligans’ two-story frame house evidently stood in the flat on the east side of Five Mile Hill, not far from the current YMCA building, and close to Leggatt Street, where it was moved in the 1920s. The Mulligans owned a barn, a cow, and an apple orchard. In 1938 a Civilian Conservation Corps camp was constructed in Mulligan’s Hollow, which was used as a Coast Guard Training Camp during WWII, beginning in 1942. Five Mile Hill had been used as a ski slope for years, and in 1973 it was dedicated by the City of Grand Haven as an 80.5 acre park, and initially included a picnic area, ice hockey rinks, basketball courts, horseshoe courts, a lighted softball field, a toboggan run, playground, and a large open lawn area. The YMCA, which previously had operated at the Armory, opened in a new building at this site in 1975.

John Newcomb was credited with building the two-story frame residence at this address, the first permanent home in Mill Point [Spring Lake].  Newcomb lived from 1811 to 1892.  His wife died three years later.  At some point it was converted to a duplex.  The Newcomb house was reputed to be the oldest surviving home in Spring Lake .

In 1994 the Covenant Church of Life bought the building at 101 Columbus for $300,000. Each of the three floors had approximately 30,000 sq. ft., and there was an additional 30,000 in an adjoining area, which was converted to the worship center.