CONKLIN-RUSSELL
635 Pleasant Street

1938 Cape Cod
Home Tour 2004

Rick and Carolyn Russell’s home is located on a street that is indeed “Pleasant”—a quiet tree-lined street with a charming mixture of older and newer homes.  This neighborhood was once part of a large farm that belonged to one of Grand Ledge’s pioneer settlers, and so the story of this property takes us back to the beginning of Grand Ledge. 

Abram and Chestina Smith and their family came to the wilderness that was to become Grand Ledge in 1849, having made the long trip in a covered wagon.  They were the third family to settle here. They spent their first year and a half living in a log cabin near the river.  Abram, David Taylor, and John Russell (all related to each other one way or another!) built the first dam on the river, just east of where the Opera House now stands. The building of that dam was one of the pivotal points in the development of Grand Ledge.  With the dam providing power, a grist mill was built on the north river bank and a saw mill was built on the south bank.  Farmers came to town to the mills, and shopped at the stores that began to spring up along Bridge Street. And so this little spot along the Grand River became a gathering point and businesses and stores grew up to serve the growing population.  While Abram tended to his business affairs, Chestina had work of her own. The family had five children: Martha, Ethalin, Chloe, Esther and Ira.  While the dam was being built, the workers boarded with the Smiths.  A few years later Abram and Chestina bought a large piece of land south of West Jefferson Street, where they built a house in 1851. The Smith home still stands today at 801 West Jefferson.  The first school in Grand Ledge was held at this home, while the schoolhouse was being built on the north side of the river. The Smith children had to cross the river by boat to get to the school when it was finished because there was no bridge across the river at that time.  The first Methodist church held its services in the Smith home as well.  Chestina died in 1886 and Abram died in 1890, and the land began to be sold by their heirs.    

Abram died in 1890 and his will left the farm property to his surviving daughters Martha Ingraham and Ethalin Shipman.  In 1908 they sold 14 ¼ acres of the old Smith farm to Leona Niles and her mother Mary E. Harris for $2800.  In May1912, Leona Niles removed her name from the deed and added her father, Jonathan Harris, so that Mary and Jonathan owned it in their own names jointly. 

Mary Harris belonged to one of the early families of Grand Ledge, the daughter of William and Rebecca Gordon.  She was born in New York state on April 30, 1842.  Her obituary gives a wonderful insight to her early years here: “...coming to Michigan with her parents when eight years old, locating in a home on Ledge rock opposite Hemlock Point at a time when the surrounding country was a dense forest in which the Indian lived in wigwams nearby.  No bridge spanned Grand River at this point until several years later.  At this time Grand Ledge had not even been named and it was ten years before an oil lamp was brought here.”  She was in fact, one of the original seven pupils to attend the first school held at the Abram Smith home.  She married Jack Harris on September 18, 1868.  Jonathan Harris was born near Mansville, New York in 1842.  He served in the Civil War with the New York Heavy Artillery and he came to Grand Ledge following the war.  Jack and Mary had a son, William, and a daughter, Leona.  The Harris family moved to Ohio in 1888 and lived there for 21 years before returning to live the rest of their lives in Grand Ledge.

 Leona Harris Niles was an interesting woman in her own right.  She was born May 17, 1869.  After graduating from high school, she moved to Norwalk Ohio where she worked as a furniture designer.  She married John Niles, and after his death in 1907, she and her parents returned to Grand Ledge from Ohio and bought the land from the Smith estate along Pleasant Street.  Leona was active in the Grand Ledge community after the family returned to town.  She was a member of Trinity Episcopal Church, President of the Woman’s Club, a member of the first Library Board, and was a charter member of the Grand Ledge Garden Club.  Leona’s family home is still standing today at 627 Pleasant Street.  Mary Harris died at the age of 82 on March 17, 1925 after suffering from paralysis for six years.  Jack Harris and Leona Niles remained in the home at 627 Pleasant. The 1930 U.S. Census gives the value of the house and land as $8000, and notes that the family owned their own radio set! 

 Jack Harris lived to the ripe old age of 91 years, and he was an active man until his last years with many talents and interests.  His obituary gives us a glimpse of the nature of the man: “...Mr. Harris, ever temperate in his manner of living, was unusual in that he excelled in many things.  He was an expert mechanic and had invented a number of useful things.  He was an exceptionally fine gardener and for many years raised berries, fruits and vegetables for sale.  Later he devoted himself to decorative gardening.  His was the first fish pool in the city and his yard and flower gardens were among the show places of the town...”  Leona joined her father in the gardens during the last few years of his life and together they raised plants and flowers for sale.  Jack Harris died in September 1933.  Leona died at the age of 85 in March 1955.  She had two step-daughters with John Niles:  Bertha Conklin and Eleanor Hasenauer.    

The land where the Russell house now stands remained in the Harris—Niles family for another generation.  Leona’s step-daughter Bertha and her husband Jesse Conklin bought the property on a private contract in 1933.  The deed stipulated that Leona kept her house and the yard where she and her father had tended to their gardens with such loving attention: “...reserving unto the First Party the use of the house, yard and usual garden spot for and during her natural life.” 

Bertha and Jesse Conklin probably built the house at 635 Pleasant in1938. There is no listing for this address in the 1937 City Directory.  Bertha’s death record lists her as a 22 year resident of the city, which would have brought her here about 1938. On May 1, 1941, The Grand Ledge Independent ran a special Home Makers edition profiling various homes around town, and the Conklin home was one of those featured.  The article describes the home: “One of the large Cape Cod homes in the city built in recent years is the property of Mr. and Mrs. J. P. Conklin on Pleasant Street.  It contains a large living room, a distinctive feature of which is a massive fireplace, dinette, kitchen, three bedrooms, and bath.  The home is situated on a two-acre tract which has been artistically landscaped and adjoins a peach and apple orchard of twelve acres also owned by the Conklins.  The home, designed by a Detroit architect, is set 150 feet back from the street away from the noise of traffic and escapes much dust.”  Jesse Conklin was friends with R. E. Olds, and during the Depression years, he was able to hire some of the skilled craftsmen from the plant to help build his home, which of course worked to the advantage of everyone.  

Bertha Niles Conklin was born in Norwich Township, Huron County, Ohio on October 1, 1880.  She lived in her home at 635 Pleasant Street until her death in March, 1960 at the age of 79.  She was a member of Trinity Episcopal Church in Grand Ledge.  Jesse worked at the Fisher Body plant in Lansing until he retired.  They had a daughter, Lucille.  Jessie died in June 1969 at the age of 91.  He was living in East Lansing at the time of his death.  Bertha and Jesse both are buried at Oakwood Cemetery in Grand Ledge.    

Several years before Jesse’s death, his family sold the house to Jack Kaufman.  The Warranty Deed was transferred in October 1967 and was signed by Joseph and Lucille Jones and Barbara J. Lockerman.  Barbara was Jesse and Bertha’s granddaughter.

Jack and Frances Kaufman sold the house in 1971 to Kendall and Carol Pearl. Carol Pearl and her husband divorced and she stayed in the house. She received a Quit Claim deed from Kendall in January 1979. 

Richard and Carolyn Russell bought the house in October 1980.  Carolyn attended a shower at the house and fell in love with it.  A short time later the house came up for sale and they bought it.  At the time they bought it, the property was larger than it is today.  It extended back to Jones Street.  The Russells sold off the back of the property and two new homes were built on the lots on Jones Street.  Rick and Carolyn have made one of the biggest changes this home has seen since it was built in the late years of the Great Depression.  They had a Master Bedroom suite added onto the house in 1987. Jim Schwartz, a local builder, did the work.  What had been the original master bedroom became the room their twin girls shared as they grew up, and they fashioned a bath for them out of the closet in that room.  Just last year, in 2003, they remodeled the kitchen and put in new floors, cupboards, and countertops.   The Russells have enjoyed their years in this house and did indeed find it a “pleasant” place to raise their family.   

As an interesting footnote to the history of this property, Rick Russell’s family has a long-time connection to the land in this neighborhood.  His Great-great-great grandfather was John W. Russell, another early settler of Grand Ledge whose farm adjoined the Abram Smith property and whose homestead still stands on West Jefferson.  It is possible that the original land patent to this tract was given to John Russell before the land passed to Abram Smith.  In fact, Abram and John were brothers-in-law—their wives were sisters.  Abram was married to Chestina Campbell, and John was married to Sophronia Campbell.  When the Smith property was broken up and dispersed, the land just to the west of the Harris property was sold to Theodore Selah Russell, a member of the John Russell family.  He owned the land until 1908 when he sold it and bought land on Jones Street, where he built a home for his family at 701 Jones Street (note: the earlier address for this home was 408 Smith Street.)  They lived there until 1918 when they left the Grand Ledge area.  Obviously, Rick’s family has many very personal connections to this neighborhood.