Historic East Grand Rapids Home Hits the Market For $3.3 Million

One of the most historic homes in East Grand Rapids has hit the market. But, if you want to be a part of its story moving forward, it'll cost you.

The home is currently owned by Aquinas College.

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The History of Brookby, the Blodgett Estate in East Grand Rapids, Michigan

While the Blodgett Estate, also known as Brookby, isn't the oldest home in the area, it is one of the most well-known.

Construction on the Blodgett Estate began in 1926 and it was built for John W. Blodgett and his wife, Minnie, according to the Grand Rapids Historical Commission.

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The estate stayed in the family (though it was briefly owned by Blodgett Hospital) until some time in the early '90s when it was sold to someone outside of the family. Eventually, in 2011, the home was donated to Aquinas College.

Aquinas has retained ownership of the estate since but has seemingly decided to put it on the market.

What to Expect Inside the Blodgett Estate in East Grand Rapids, Michigan

You're not just getting a run-of-the-mill home for that $3.3 million price tag.

Brookby/The Blodgett Estate features eight bedrooms, ten bathrooms and is a whopping 11,858 square feet.

I think my favorite part of the home may be the breakfast room/solarium. The room has huge windows that overlook the lake.

And it has this amazing lattice work and 13-foot ceilings.

The formal dining room features a secret door (cue all of my childhood dreams after watching too many episodes of Webster).

The formal dining room is also home to one of the many fireplaces located throughout the home. This one is hand-carved from Italian marble.

Technically, it's a single-family home. In fact, it currently functions as the home of the president of Aquinas College. (Well, was, the president of Aquinas put in her resignation last week.) But the home is also large enough to host events like weddings, graduation parties, and more.

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The grounds are also home to the Brookby Gardens. The gardens were originally landscaped as Chinese gardens, transitioned to English gardens at some point, and were changed back to Chinese gardens after the property was acquired by Aquinas College.

The home also comes with two additional outbuildings and sits on 5.59 acres of land that butts up to both Coldbrook Creek and Fisk Lake.

Is Brookby on Aquinas College's Campus Haunted?

I suppose that depends on whom you ask, but many people have reported some spooky encounters at Brookby over the years. So many that the college highlights a few of them on their website.

There have been stories about a woman looking out of a second-story window and a mysterious light on a panel of servants' buttons that continues to light up to this day, even when no one is in the home.

I have to tell you, when reading about the light thing, I immediately got chills. The light, the one labeled '11,' corresponds to the button located in Minnie Blodgett's former bedroom.

It's also said to be haunted by the ghost of a former housekeeper.

Brookby, Also Known as the Blodgett Estate, in East Grand Rapids, Listed For Sale

The home has been on the market for a few days, and with a price tag of $3.3 million, it'll probably take a bit to find just the right buyer. You can check out more details and see some more photos from Keller Williams North on the official listing page.

You can also learn more about the history of the home in the video below.

And hey - maybe Aquinas will throw some of these things in to entice buyers...

Love spooky, haunted history? Check out these hauntings and legends from Michigan's Upper Peninsula.