John Rayner House

This handsome brick structure, said to be the oldest remaining house in Mason, is one of the most elaborate and best preserved Greek Revival houses in Ingham County. Pioneer John Rayner, a native of New York State, began construction of this farmhouse in 1840. The original Rayner farm totaled 320 acres. The ponds in the park opposite this site were dug to supply ice for early Mason. The remaining outbuilding contains a blacksmith shop and an icehouse. The twin sons of Chief Okemos played here with Rayner’s oldest son, William. The Rayner family had a major impact upon early Mason, owning the slaughterhouse, ice ponds and the Rayner Opera House. At the time of his death in 1879, John Rayner was called “one of the most opulent men of the county,” having acquired thousands of acres of land in Ingham and adjacent counties.