SHEETS-FITZGERALD
219 West Jefferson Street

1909 Romanesque

Listed as a State Historic Site in 1978, this home has a long association with Lansing. Built by the sister of R.E.Olds, it has also been the State’s Governor Mansion as well as home to the State’s Supreme Court Justice.

Edwyn A. Boyd, of Lansing designed the home for George and Sarah Sheets.  Sarah was the daughter of Pliny and Sarah Olds and a sister to Ransom E. Olds the founder or Oldsmobile. She and her family moved to Lansing from Ohio in 1880. Also in that year, George Sheets was in Grand Ledge clerking in a downtown store. After the couple met and married they continued to live in Grand Ledge. George would later own the Economy Clothing Store at the corner of Bridge and Jefferson. By 1900 George and Sarah were living with his mother Elizabeth and his sister Abbie. Elizabeth ran a boarding house in town. George and Sarah must have been saving their money, because in 1909 they spent $18,000 on their new home.. a very large amount for the time. An older home on the lot was removed, probably moved to a new location, before this home could be built.

Both R.E. Olds and his sister were believers in Spiritualism, which was sweeping the country at the time. A form of Christianity, Spiritualists believe that a spirit world coexists with the material world. When a person dies, his or her soul moves to the spirit world and is closer to God. Spiritualists believe the spirits of the dead can communicate with the living through mediums and psychics, and that they actively act as guides to help the living develop their souls. Grand Ledge was home to a Spiritualist Campground (now Fitzgerald Park) where mediums held séances and lectures were given on the topic. Mrs Poke Russell was a well known medium in Grand Ledge. Mrs Sheets had her third floor, normally designed for dances, especially designed as a séance room. The room was often used for this purpose.
Another specific request of Sarah was the construction of a small pantry off the kitchen. This was to be used when the maids, who lived in the rear portion of the second story, were making pancakes, so the smell did not permeate into the rest of the home.

After the death of George in 1914, the home was sold to Harley Tinkham. Harley had retired from farming and decided to move into town. Harley owned and operated a garage at the corner of Scott and Bridge. He sold E.M.P automobiles and Brush Runabout cars. After Harley died in 1932, and his wife Esther died in 1934, their son Russell lived in the home for a time before selling to Frank Fitzgerald.

In 1936 Frank and Queena (Warner) Fitzgerald left their home on East Jefferson and moved into the home with their son John. Frank D. Fitzgerald was serving his first term as Governor of Michigan at the time, so this home became the State’s Governor Mansion. Born near Grand Ledge in 1885, he had served as the Secretary of State from 1930 to 1934 and was elected Governor in 1935. He lost his campaign for reelection in 1937. This home served as his campaign headquarters for the next election, which he won in 1938. Sadly Governor Fitzgerald died in the home during his second term on March 16, 1939. Serving during the Depression, he advocated government reorganization measures that included a civil service system for State employees.

After moving in, Queena redecorated the home, but made no structural changes. The dining room, featuring mahogany beams and panels was not only used for campaign headquarters over the years, but was also turned into a hospital room for the ill Governor in 1939. It was in this room that he died.

In 1957 Queena moved to the Haggertt home she owned on the corner next door and John and Lorabeth moved into the “big house”. Although the dining room fresco was faded and the front bedroom’s hand painted ceiling were both pealing and had to be replaced, they tried to retain the homes original style and flair. The fixtures are equipped with both gas and electricity. Quarter sawn oak woodwork with a walnut finish graces the home. Back to back fireplaces with glazed tile, sliding oak doors, and drape portieres help keep the home warm.

John W. Fitzgerald served in the United States Army in World War II. He graduated from Michigan State University, and the University of Michigan Law School. Like his father, he pursued a career in public office beginning in 1958 when he was elected to the Michigan State Senate. He was elected to the original Michigan Court of Appeals in 1964 and he was appointed to the Michigan Supreme Court in 1973 for a one-year term. Subsequently, he was elected to a full 8 year term and served as the Court Supreme Justice.  Justice Fitzgerald was on the original board of directors of Thomas M. Cooley Law School and in 1983 he taught the first class of the fledgling school. He later resigned from the board to take a position there as professor of law.

John and Lorabeth had three sons. Frank Moore, who followed his father into politics died suddenly in 2004. Frank and his wife Ruth also lived on West Jefferson and had two children: Ellen Lora and John Wesley Fitzgerald. Their other sons Eric Stiles and Adam Warner and his wife, Lisa Sell, reside in Denver.  Sadly Justice Fitzgerald died July 7, 2006 while on holiday in Mackinaw Island.