By Beatrice Nesbitt Ruthven<\/strong><\/p>\n Editor\u2019s Note<\/strong>: The author passed away on May 20, 2016<\/a>, two weeks after writing this story and just shy of her 99th birthday. Dr. Alexander Grant Ruthven<\/a>, former President of the University of Michigan (for a tenure of 22 years)<\/a> and his family came to Frankfort from Ann Arbor in 1929 as guests of the Dean of the Dental School, who owned a cottage on Crystal Lake. While here, Dr. Ruthven fell in love with the area, as most people do. He purchased a piece of property from the railroad. At that time, the property was believed to be 24 acres.<\/p>\n \u201cGo Blue\u201d Avenue<\/strong> On that note, I have long wondered why in downtown Frankfort there is no consistency in the naming of the cross streets. For example, it doesn\u2019t go 1st, 2nd, 3rd streets. Instead, what should be 1st street is actually called Michigan Avenue. I have been told that when all of the University of Michigan people moved up here, it was referred to as \u201cMichigan Avenue,\u201d and the name stuck.<\/p><\/div>\n Soon it was determined that there was not sufficient pasture land, so Dr. Ruthven purchased the property to the north, on the other side of George Street. This property extended from M-22 to Lake Michigan. The Ruthvens built a small barn for their Morgan stallion, a barn which still stands today on the corner of George Street and Michigan Avenue. (It should be noted that Dr. Ruthven, an avid horseman, brought the first Morgan horses from Vermont to Michigan.)<\/p>\n The Ruthvens and other Ann Arbor friends were equestrians and brought their horses up from Ann Arbor via train\u2014or actually rode them the entire 250 or so miles\u2014every summer. The property was vacant and proved to be an excellent place to build stables, a bunkhouse, and adequate riding facilities with pasture land. (If you look at the aerial view in the photo in the north hallway, you can see what the property looked like back then.)<\/p>\n
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\nMany Ann Arborites were charmed with the beauty of the area and built their own summer homes here, including Mrs. Ruthven\u2019s sister. The pink art deco house next door to the Ruthvens was built by the Dean of the Medical School, Dr. Furstenberg. Mrs. Canfield, widow of a prominent medical doctor in Ann Arbor, built the house now known as the \u201cKing House\u201d and the property where \u201cThe Bluffs\u201d stands.<\/p>\n