Carlton’s historic Scott House sees next evolution – Duluth News Tribune

CARLTON – It has been four years since James Sheetz listed his family home on

Airbnb

. And, aside from that one time he accidentally stumbled upon a photo of a guest wearing his tuxedo, he was pretty lucky.

“It was a hostel in the beginning, so it’s come full circle,” Sheetz said.

The historic Scott House, located on Lac La Belle, was built in 1859 as a coaching inn and inn on a former military road that linked Superior and Saint-Paul.

It has been owned by the Sheetz family for 80 years and, in addition to venue rentals, Sheetz hosts a multitude of private gatherings, weddings and musical performances.

At a Mother’s Day event on Sunday, the first floor was packed with guests finishing their meals with cake and coffee.

“If I’m not working here, singing here, then I’m just here,” Cloquet’s Lori Bergstedt said.

She has performed at the Scott House for the past 10 years, in addition to hosting her 60th birthday, wedding and baby showers. “It’s just a gem,” she added.

Katy Bergsted joined her mother at the Scott House for years to enjoy musical homages to the 50s, 60s and Broadway. “Whatever Jim imagines, we’re in it,” Bergstedt said, adding that it’s become a community gathering place.

Sheetz, whose full-time gig is as music director at two churches in Cloquet, also hosts small vocal ensembles, instrumentalists and professionals.

Sheetz is a much-loved and ever-supportive member of our musical community, said Sarah Lawrence, General Artistic Director of Lyric Opera of the North. He has great ideas and a great instinct for making people feel welcome, she continued.

LOON and Sheetz have collaborated on several events, and Lawrence herself has performed in the main house, the shed, and outside on the grounds.

“The beauty of the place makes it feel like a real escape,” she said.

In the late 1800s, the farm was used as a vegetable farm. In 1869, the building that would become the Scott House was constructed.

Walter and Minnie Scott owned the land from 1910 to 1937. Sheetz’s grandparents purchased the farm in 1942. His parents took possession in 1949, and Sheetz grew up on the land, the youngest of four.

Sheetz has been a Titanic enthusiast since he was 9 years old. He remembers sinking a red plastic boat and pretending his inner tube was a lifeboat in the lake.

Sheetz’s brother designed and built a tree house in the garden. Her grandmother kept a patch of raspberries, which Sheetz and her siblings “invaded,” and her mother baked pies from locally grown blueberries.

Sheetz met with Scott House’s descendants, who shared letters and images offering visual and written descriptions of the space.

From there he began renovations in 2000, where he removed the first floor ceilings and walls. He added new windows, improved the electrical system, heating, plumbing and replaced the original woodwork that had been removed.

He added French doors and moved the staircase, aiming to restore it to as much of its original state as possible.

During the rebuild, Sheetz found 100-year-old coins, a closet, the remains of a long-lost cat and hundreds of cherry pits – a reminder of when a cherry paw went missing. overnight.

“My dad always said it was a pack rat, but probably a squirrel or a chipmunk got into the house,” Sheetz recalled.

In the back yard are a set of canoes, a screened porch and the carriage shed that can accommodate 50 people.

“They had big barns in that area. The horses were taken back to the lake to water, and that was their little trail,” Sheetz said.

Towards the water, a sign reads “Dale’s Trail” with the image of a loon. It’s a tribute to Sheetz’s childhood friend who died at the age of 27. “His mother was honored by it.”

Sheetz recently sold his house across the lake, so he could move back to his childhood home.

Room rentals will end in August, but in the past four years it has seen visitors from Arkansas, Maine, Ireland and Norway.

Despite his current address in San Francisco, Cloquet-raised Tom DeCaigny’s first visit was at a wedding in 2018, and he’s been a recurring guest ever since.

“My partner and I travel regularly for business and pleasure and have visited a number of vacation homes and hotels around the world. … The Scott House is one of our favorite destinations,” DeCaigny said.

“It rivals homes we have stayed in in Venice, Italy and other parts of the world due to its unique character and charm, and the warm and personalized hospitality of its owner.”