Limey Is for Rent

You can settle in and get cozy at 213 Furnace Avenue.

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Limey, photographed by me, January 25, 2025.

After a dozen years as a licensed short-term rental (VRBO #407478), the cute green house affectionately known as Limey to its owners and their guests will be available for those looking to stay awhile.

Specifically, it’s now possible to get a year lease, with a monthly rent of $1,450. You’ll need to provide first and last month’s rent and a $500 security deposit to begin the lease. And you’ll need to hand over your credit history, a rental history, and some good references.

The 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom house comes fully furnished, including bedding, all appliances, TV, microwave, washer and dryer, and dishware. Tenants are responsible for all utility bills. As a short-term rental, the house currently complies with Village of Elberta fire and safety requirements, including smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and fire extinguishers. The furnace is up-to-date and energy efficient. Smoking and pets are not allowed.

I visited a friend there once, and I can testify to the charm of its interior. All mod cons, but with a quirky and unique atmosphere (see photos at the VRBO link above). People who know co-owner Marcy Patterson-Grudzien’s art and designs will see her hand in the house’s details.

This massive iron smelting facility opened in July 1870, and would have been well underway when Limey was built—perhaps for one or more of the workers. The Life Saving Station (1887) had yet to be built. Was a Limey resident part of the team of volunteer lifesavers who helped the crew of the wrecked J.H. Hartzell (1880)? Photo from the Benzie Area Historical Society online archives.

Stewart Grudzien thinks the house was built sometime in the 1870s, partly because they found a newspaper dated 1872 stuffed in the walls during their gut renovation of the place, which took four years. (This jibes with other wall-newspaper finds I’ve been told about along this stretch of Furnace.)

Originally from the Detroit area, Stewart has turned his prodigious research skills from the nitty-gritty of local governance to local history, in part to find out more about Limey. “I’ve read Blacklock’s History of Elberta, and Dr. Louis Yock’s Lost Benzie County and Crystal Lake. I have found very interesting information about and pictures of my two other properties in Benzie County. Nothing yet on Limey.”

Among the items still on his to-read list are: Leonard Case’s Benzie County: A Bicentennial Reader; A Crystal Lake Handbook, published by MSU; and Thomas Bevier’s Images of Benzie County. I recommended Memo’s of Betsie Bay, by Charles Anderson, to Stewart — other than that wayward apostrophe, it’s a great read. Many of these books are available at The Bookstore in Frankfort (nudge nudge); Blacklock’s book is sold at the Village Office for $30 and at Elberta Mercantile in the on-season. If you know of any other books, or have any information about Limey or Furnace Avenue, I’m sure the Grudziens (and I) would love to hear it. And of course, the Benzie Area Historical Society is an incredible resource for anyone who wants to hop into some old photos and documents.

In this undated photo we see the Elberta School, built in 1870. Perhaps someone who lived at Limey went there. The building stood at the corner of Steele and Cartwright where the basketball court is now. It burned down in 1961. Photo from the BAHS collection.

And, most importantly, if you’re interested in renting Limey and getting your Elberta hang underway, please contact Stewart and Marcy at 231-882-5939, or by email at stewartgrudzien@gmail.com.