Innkeeper Descendants

Just after Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore sent a press release that they had issued a Letter of Intent to partner with BEAR to renovate the Sleeping Bear Inn and Garage in January 2021, we were contacted by Rich who is a descendant of William and Ezilda Farrant the original innkeepers of Sleeping Bear Inn.

Rich had items that he inherited from his relative Bessie Farrant, daughter of William and Ezilda that were once used in Sleeping Bear Inn and he wanted to know if we would be willing to re-home the items back in the Inn when we opened it. We could not be more pleased to have these items live on in Sleeping Bear Inn and are grateful Rich was willing to share them with future visitors to the Inn. Rich made the trip from the Chicago area last week to see the Inn and bring us those precious items.

While here, he also had the opportunity to meet his relatives, Mae the author of “The Farrants of Glen Haven and Empire: A Story Restored”, Kay who contributed to the book and Mae’s mother Marion. Marion, Kay and Mae are descendants of Miner the son of William and Ezilda. We had such a wonderful time walking through the Inn and looking at old family photos and look forward to welcoming the Farrant family descendants back to the Inn when the renovation is complete and the family heirlooms are displayed.

To see the items, check out our Facebook page. Not on Facebook? You will be able to see the items prominently displayed at the Inn when you visit!