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CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS STAFF REPORT APPLICATION -- Request for- reduction of Landmark -area PROPERTY -- 12670 State - Road -23 Granger, -3N - OWNER -- Berkeley Corporation . DESIGNATION -- LL RATING Outstanding•0 /.13' - STATEMENT.OF -SIGNIFICANCE /HISTORIC CONTEXT In 1835 Mr. Isaac Hathaway, of Cass. County Michigan, sold 72.07 acres of land located in Sectioti'.18 -of Harris Township to-Daniel Follmer; a settler from Pennsylvania. Mr. Follmer sold the land to John Follmer in October -of 1837,: who built the house that same year.. Mr-. John Follmer organized the first Township April of 1853,and was . •elected - its first - •chairman.'- I The township - board held, it's first meetings in Mr. Follmer's house. Mr. Follmer.was also responsible for - helping construct the first school building in Harris Township in 185.3 - at the corner of Adams and Cherry Roads. Afte'r.the Civil - War Mrs. Margaret Follmer,_ wife of John, became Granger's first established the - first post office in her home in 1875. Mr.'.Follmer died in 1865 and Mrs., Follmer passed away in 1906, at which time the house -was left- - to Mrs._Follmer's brother. Mrs. W.C. Kownover. Mr..Kownover took up where his 'sister left off by becoming postmaster. His son Charles - Frank took - 'up the - torch - where his father left off\and upon his - depth: Mrs. - Charles" Frank'(Nellie).Kownover became postmistress twenty -five years, aventuaMr selling .the_.}�ouse in '1953 to' James' W.. Goff The house' was . used- as the office of .the Township_ Trustee and Assessor from 1966 -to - 1974; Mrs. James W. Goff was the elected official..The farmhouse and several outbuildings were. established as a Local Landmark in 1976 Mrs. Goff sold the house to Thomas A. Selsor in 1986. Mr. Selsor, president— of the Berkeley Corporation,,intended to"use the'buildingto house a restaurant and shops: - - - Around 1988'Mr. Selsor sold house and approximately- 0.83.acre to. Belinda = and =Phil Albert'thus severing the continuity of ownership for the collective farmyard buildings.. They renovated the interior of the house,and_made''it -into a restaurant I called Yesterday's Food & Spirits. At the same time the, overall "legal description of the Landmark was reduced from its original 'approximate -4 .acres 'to approximately' acres occupied by.two• approximately_ equal lots,-one with -the house - -and another with the barn and •other.assorted outbuildings. PROPOSED,CHANGE The.Owner has requested the further reduction of the legal description of the .Landmark to remove a,sect_ion'94.61.- feet.wide from the area between the barn• and'the house.