80 ½ North Main Street
North side of street
Official Property Description:
The house sits near Parke Lake, behind the house at 80 North Main Street, at some distance from Main Street.
The west elevation (front) of the single-story house has a center entrance underneath a wide eave overhang. The front door has nine windowpanes (three by three) over a wood panel and is flanked by two tall sliding windows. On each side of the door toward north and south ends is a one over one double hung window with a dark shutter. This portion of the house has a low-pitched metal roof. The reminder of the house has an asphalt shingled roof with a steeper pitch. A large artistic fieldstone chimney is viewed from the west elevation rising from near the center of the house.
The house sits on a small hill approached by four steps along a fieldstone walkway leading to the front door.
The north elevation has a door at the west end that enters the kitchen. It appears an addition was added toward the east with two double hung one-over-one windows. The east elevation overlooks Parke Lake at the bottom of the hill. The middle of the elevation has glass sliding doors with a small flat porch roof with two square columns and four steps leading to a brick patio. On each side of the doorway is a large picture window. Near each of the north and south sides of this elevation there is a one-over-one double hung window with dark colored shutters.
The south elevation appears to have had a small bump out addition with three one-over-one windows, one facing west and the other two facing south. A bulkhead basement doorway leads to the basement of the house built into the hillside.
Significant Property History:
The historical maps of the Village of Clarkston (1908 and 1896) report owners of the property 80 North Main Street as Abram L. Craft and then Charlie Sly with the property extending to Parke Lake. In 1885 Professor Craft was appointed principal of Clarkston High School (it was built as a private academy by Nelson W. Cark) and for ten years he was county school examiner in Oakland County and then commissioner.
Property Transfer records indicate c 1914 the portion of the property next to the lake belonged to Gertrude Church. It is estimated the house was built in 1920. In 1963 Gordon Mosher purchased the property from Maynard Kizer (Kizer owned the property west of the house, 80 North Main Street, as of 1955).
Mr. Mosher (1923 – 2011) lived in the house for 50 years. Gordon had worked at Ford Tractor for 30 years when he retired in 1981. While owning the house on the Parke Lake side, he installed glass sliding doors in place of a couple windows in the middle of the east elevation providing easier access for lake views.
The well was plugged in 1994.
Mr. Mosher’s great nephew Bradley Rogers purchased the house in 2013. Brad installed a brick patio on the east elevation to better enjoy the wonderful lake view in summer.
Scott McGinn and Kathleen Huston purchased the house in November 2022.
