A National Register Historic Site since 1995 - A State of Michigan Historic Site since 2002
The entire contents of this internet document are Copyright 2003 by the Ottawa Beach Historic Committee.
Website designed, written and constructed by Dan Aument
The Howard cottage on Lots 22 and 23
On lots 22 and 23, the Howard Family built this cottage in 1896 and it remained in that family for 103 years until it was sold to Herb and Sally Pollock in 1999. The Duntons were principals in the Haskelite Company, a Grand Rapids woodworking company specializing in wood laminated parts for boats and airplanes. During WWII the company made parts for PT boats and gliders, and The Duntons entertained a lot of clients at their cottage. It is said that Howard Hughes visited here when he was negotiating to have parts made for his “spruce goose” seaplane. Dunton Park, located on the north shore of Lake Macatawa near the Park Davis plant and near Howard Avenue, is named after John Dunton.
This watercolor sketch shows the cottage on wooden piers during renovation.
When it was built, the entire interior of this cottage was paneled in wood which was shellacked and never painted. When the Pollocks had the entire cottage restored, The interior was carefully maintained in its original condition.
The cottage is located on Black Walk Walk overlooking Lake Macatawa. It has a clear view toward Holland, and church steeples in the city seven miles away are clearly seen. Looking to the south, the view is of the old hotel electric generating and water pumping building, the Macatawa Park hills across the bay and the entrance of the channel into Lake Michigan. It is easy to see why the Duntons selected these lots for their cottage.
More pictures and the ownership history of the Dunton cottage may be found in the Cottage History section.
