Conveniently located less than a mile from I-75, 7 miles north of Ga***rd, 22 miles from Boyne City, 30 miles from Petoskey. A partial brick wall stands in the yard near the street. Years ago the Vanderbilt Hotel stood in that location. The Stone House was built in 1939 to handle the overflow. Some prominent guests stayed at the hotel over the years and I have the original guest registers, dating
back to 1923. Brass room numbers still designate bedrooms and visitors appreciate the master craftsmanship that shows in the exterior stonework and the stone fireplace in the living room. The daughter, Bertha or “Betty” Fales, of the inn owners eventually lived in the Stone House with her husband, Archie. Betty was born in 1919 and attended the University of Michigan, studying both archeology and pharmacy. Archie had children from his first marriage, but Betty was not close to them and had no children of her own. After Archie died in 1998, Betty became isolated. One day, a gentleman, Bill, stopped to ask if he could have some bricks from her yard with which to build a barbecue. As Bill was walking to his truck, she called to him from an entry window. He never got the bricks, but he became the caretaker and caregiver for twelve years, until her death at age 91 in 2011. Archie’s children wanted nothing to do with the house. In 2008, I returned to my home state of Michigan, settling in Traverse City. In 2013, I decided to move to Vanderbilt to be part of an intentional, spiritual community. As they sometimes do, things fell into place and I knew the first time I set foot in the Stone House that it would be my next home. What I couldn't have anticipated is the joy I feel in being a steward of this 1.25 acres of property. Guests have said there's a peaceful feeling here and it's become not only a place offering accommodations, but a place up north where people have found the true north in their own lives. My intent is to honor the history, continue with renovations and landscaping, and share this place I call home with others.
~ Mo Charbonneau
