National Register of Historic Places

Grand Rapids has five buildings on the National Register of Historic Places:

Heeter-Russo House

In the 1870's Jacob Heeter, a shoemaker and harness repairman, built this unique gothic revival home using stone blocks, clay bricks, and slate. The two-story home is nearly symmetrical with elaborately detailed barge boards and cornice trim. The intersecting gable roofs each have a single double-hung window and frame a bracketed and wood-laced canopy, sheltering two doors. All windows and doors have carved wooden trim and all the windows have shutters. Examples of Victorian "gingerbread" homes are rare in Wood County. The home has remained a private residence.
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Heeter-Russo House - 24570 Second St.

R.A. Housley House

Richard.A. Housley, who owned a local grocery and meat market before he purchased the Peugh planning mill to which he added a saw mill and bending works, built the Housley House in 1883. It is of Italianate design that was very popular during the Victorian period. Today, the Housley House operates as a bed and breakfast.
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R.A. Housley House - 24155 Front St

Benjamin F. Kerr House

Benjamin F. Kerr and his wife built this majestic Queen Anne Victorian manor, situated on a small bluff overlooking the village, starting in 1880. The house is adorned with decorative trim, unique stained glass windows, and a slate roof. A tower hovers over the main entrance marked by two hand-crafted oak doors. The interior features beautiful hardwoods, fireplaces, and hand-carved door panels.  The bathrooms feature marble sinks and copper tubs.  Today, the Kerr House operates as an acclaimed health spa.
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Benjamin F. Kerr House - 17605 Beaver St

Thurston Building

The Thurston Building was built in 1896.  Until a few years ago, it operated as a pharmacy under five owners: Azor Thurston, Clark Patton, O.P. Hampshire, Phil Hock, and Joe Boyle.
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Thurston Building - 24187 Front Street

  Grand Rapids Town Hall

The building of the Romanesque-style Town Hall was sanctioned by an act of the State Legislature on March 21, 1898. Discussion for the building took place as early as 1893, but the plans were rejected. Funding was approved on April 19, 1898. The building site was purchased from Maria Haspelhorn for $500 and building contract awarded to Charles Patton. The Town Hall is a two-story, square brick building that sits on a stone foundation and has a hip roof.  There is a massive brick arch with a keystone dated 1898. It is placed in the center of the façade and shelters the recessed entrance, above which appears "Town Hall" in raised stone letters in the center bay.  Above the bay is a flat-arched window rising upward blending into a square wood belfry. The belfry itself has a steeply pitched roof, three arched and lowered openings on each façade, and small turrets at each corner. W.K. and Howard Evans were the slate roofing contractors.  The only original slate that remains is on the cupola, as the roof was replaced in 1969.
 PictureTown Hall - West Front Street