Jared H. Gay House

Jared H. Gay was born in New York in 1830.[2] He moved west to operate sawmills in Lyons, Michigan and Fulton, Ohio, then in 1857 moved to Muskegon to operate a blacksmith's shop. In 1861, Gay arrived in Crystal Valley as a government-appointed blacksmith, serving the local Ottawa and Chippewa population in accordance with the recent treaty which had been signed in 1855. There he and his wife Catherine built this house.[3]

The Gays were the first European settlers in what is now Crystal Township,[4] and were instrumental in the early development of the area around Crystal Valley (Catherine Gay christened the area "Crystal Valley").[5] Jared Gay worked as the government blacksmith until about 1865. After this, he ran a blacksmith shop located across the street from the house until the shop burned in 1877. By that time, the Gays had begun operating a small sawmill, and had platted out the village of Crystal Valley. In 1882, they constructed a frame house (destroyed in 1965) and moved out of this log structure.[4]

In 1902, the Gays sold the property on which this house sits. Mark and Calla Krieger purchased the house in 1954, and renovated it as a weekend home. They lived there until at least 1989.[4]

The Jared H. Gay House is two-story structure, measuring 20 feet by 30 feet, and built of squared and notched logs on a fieldstone foundation. It is built in an I-shape, with a gable roof covered with asphalt shingles. The gables are timber-framed and covered with clapboard. A single story wing is attached; the original open porch and rear wing have been removed. Additionally, the original front facade with two entrances and two double hung windows was updated to a single entrance with sidelights and a pair of double hung windows.[4]

The interior was originally divided up into four approximately equal-sized rooms on the first floor, with a steep narrow staircase leading to the second floor. This has been remodeled into a single large room with a more modern staircase.[4]