Spring Lake plans a free Nov. 7 walking tour of north side homes more than 110 years old

SPRING LAKE, Mich. — Spring Lake’s Historic Conservation Commission is inviting the public on a free, hourlong walk past some of the village’s oldest houses on Saturday, Nov. 7. The tour starts at 10 a.m., and only 30 people can go.

Reservations are required. The village says to sign up, or ask questions, by emailing the commission at springlakehcc@yahoo.com.

The route stays north of M-104, which runs through the village as Savidge Street, in the blocks between Cutler and Buchanan streets. The walk focuses on houses more than 110 years old, according to the village’s announcement. Walkers gather at the Cutler Street monuments, where Cutler meets Liberty Street.

Three commission members who own historic homes themselves will lead the group: David Dye, Jacquie Medina and Lisa Hilliard. Dye is an architect who has worked on renovations of historic buildings.

Among the stops, Dye said, is the house of William Barrett, of Barrett Boat Works. It went up in 1861 and was moved to where it stands now after the fire of 1893. The Barrett family lived there from the 1890s into the 1960s, and the house hosted a large Masonic funeral for Barrett in 1917.

The group will also pass a house once owned by Hunter Savidge, one of the village’s founders. During the Civil War, Jay McCluer served in the Army in Savidge’s place, and Savidge later gave McCluer the house along with additional land. Dye called that kind of exchange common and accepted in its day.

A third featured home is an American Foursquare that at one point served as a parsonage for a Spring Lake church. Foursquares were popular in the early 1900s, and many were sold as mail-order kits, the village noted. Parts for houses like this one may have come from Sears, Roebuck or from the Aladdin Co. of Saginaw, shipped by rail and assembled on the lot.

The walk goes on rain or shine but will be canceled if there are storms, the village said.

Planning a visit sooner? Village news lists Halloween trick-or-treating downtown from 4 to 6 p.m., followed by community-wide trick-or-treating from 6 to 8 p.m. The village is also taking input on the M-104 corridor through a second online survey that closes Friday, Oct. 30.

Sources:
Village of Spring Lake, “Northside Neighborhood historical tour planned for Nov. 7, 2026,” posted Oct. 9, 2026 (date, route, tour leaders, featured homes, 30-person limit, weather policy, meeting spot, registration email), https://www.springlaketwp.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=57
Village of Spring Lake, Village News (Halloween trick-or-treating hours; M-104 Corridor Solutions Survey open through Oct. 30), https://www.springlaketwp.org/257/Village-News
Photo: rossograph (Wingerham52), “Aloys Bilz House.JPG,” Sept. 28, 2013, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/), cropped and color-adjusted; derivative under the same license, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aloys_Bilz_House.JPG

Tri-Cities

Tags: Tri-Cities · Michigan Travel · Spring Lake · Historic Homes · Walking Tours · Ottawa County