Frank Kramer House/Jerry & Margaret Albert House

The Frank A. Kramer house at 221 North Center Avenue in Gaylord, Michigan is historically significant for its architecture and its connection to Frank Kramer and his wife, Rae E. (Harris) Kramer, who lived in the home from 1896 to 1960. Frank Kramer was a locally prominent banker, businessman, and civic leader. Rae Kramer was a locally prominent businesswoman and civic leader. The house has been owned by Jerry and Margaret Albert since in 1987.

Location:

The Frank Kramer house is located at 221 North Center Avenue in Gaylord, Michigan on the southwest corner of Sheldon Street.

Architecture:

The Kramer house has 3 stories, with a wrap around porch. The house also has multiple paired windows, diamond windows, and a fish scale gable. This house is a half-timbered Queen Anne, The style of this house is quite unique. Only about 5% of all Queen Anne homes are half-timbered.

Important Dates:

• 1896 - Frank and Rae Kramer built the house
• 1928 - Frank Kramer died at 72 years old (born ~ 1856)
• 1960 - Rae Kramer died at 92 years old (born ~ 1868)
• ? - Sheriff Ralph Holewinski and his wife Edith owned the house
• 1987 - Jerry and Margaret Albert moved to Gaylord and bought the house and restored it
• 2/18/1993 - Listed on State Register
• 3/31/1994 - Marker erected showing it's historical home
• 12/12/2002 - Listed on National Register
• ? - there is now a new owner

Information on Frank Kramer:

Frank Kramer was a banker, starting Gaylord State Savings Bank in 1893 in combination with Earl Bolton and Sanford Buck.

Frank Kramer was a businessman and he owned Kramer's Busy Big Store starting in 1882. It was located on the south side of Main Street and moved in 1883. There was a substantial addition to the store in 1887. In 1900, the store was completed at a total of 10,000 square feet. The store started as a clothing and dry goods store and a carpet and rug department was added later. One room had clothing, shoes, hats, and gents' furnishings. Another room had dry goods and fancy goods. A third room had carpets, rugs, mattings, curtains, linoleums, and ladies' ready-to-wear garments.

Frank Kramer was a member of the school board for 21 years. He was an active member in the Masonic Lodge and Knights of Pythias.

Frank Kramer was a Russian Jewish immigrant who settled in Gaylord and owned a farm northwest of town.

Information on Rae Kramer:

Rae Kramer was a businesswoman.

Rae Kramer was an active member of the Red Cross, the Otsego County Board, the Order of the Eastern Star, and the Wah Wah Soo Association. She organized the Rainbow Girls and the Otsego County Health Committee.

This entry was added by Girl Scout Troop 4226 (Noelle, Corinne, Inara, Madeline).

Otsego County Historical Society. "Historical Homes - Gaylord, Center Avenue - North." Otsego County Historical Museum, Otsego County Historical Society, http://www.otsego.org/ochs/photogallery/Historical%20Homes/historic%20homes%20of%20gaylord/Center%20Avenue%20NORTH/Center%20North%20JUMP%20PAGE.htm.

Internet Archive. "Kramer, Frank A., and Rae E. Harris, House." The Wayback Machine, Internet Archive, 25 December 2013, https://web.archive.org/web/20131225123100/http://www.mcgi.state.mi.us/hso/sites/17936.htm.

Wikipedia. "Frank A. and Rae E. Harris Kramer House." Wikipedia, 13 September 2013, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_A._and_Rae_E._Harris_Kramer_House.

Ryan, Nolan. "Hillsdale alumni's home is a historical landmark." The Collegian, 9 November 2017, http://hillsdalecollegian.com/2017/11/hillsdale-alumnis-home-historical-landmark/.