Botsford Inn

This historic structure was built as a home in 1836 by Orrin Weston and converted into a tavern by Stephen Jennings in 1841. Milton Botsford bought what was by then called the Sixteen Mile House in 1860. It was a stagecoach stop popular with drovers, farmers and travelers on the Grand River plank road. Henry Ford, who in the 1880s attended dances at the inn with his future wife, Clara, bought it in 1924. He renovated the inn to reflect the Victorian era. He first used it as a private retreat. Later he opened it to the public. The Anhut family bought the property in 1951, operating it as one of the state’s oldest inns until 1999. That year Botsford Hospital bought the property. The hospital rehabilitated the building in 2008. The exterior reflects its Ford-era appearance.

Plaque via Michigan History Center