Laing-Mason House

This house was built in stages between the 1860s and the 1930s. In 1889 Dr. John B. Laing and his wife, Harriet, purchased the house. Raised in Vermont, Laing (1846-1908) came to Otisville in 1871 as one of the village’s earliest physicians, and became one of Otisville’s most important citizens. At his death Laing owned 120 acres of land. The property changed hands six times before being purchased in 1935 by George W. and Frances Mason. George Mason (1887-1978) owned the Mason Tackle Company of Otisville, familiar to fishermen worldwide, and operated it out of this house until 1944. The Masons renovated extensively, reportedly using materials – including the west porch columns – salvaged from a Detroit bank that failed during the Depression.