- Along road
- Betsy Smith Trail
- Coordinates
- 45.5818° N, 85.5861° WGoogle Maps: Vann house on Betsy Smith TrailDownload KML
- Eras
- Modern era
- Concepts
- architecturehousingtourismtransportation
- Within
- Beaver Island
Summary
The Vann house is a source-qualified residential structure on Betsy Smith Trail near Iron Ore Bay. A 2014 Beaver Beacon property profile describes Bill Vann’s 2,400-square-foot, three-bedroom house on a 5.37-acre lot with 169.5 feet of beach frontage. It highlights a lighthouse-like tower, bridges, decks, and the wooded hollow and pond near the trail. A real-estate listing identifies the property as 29320 Betsy Smith Trail and gives a 2000 construction year.
The sources establish the house’s road setting and advertised characteristics, and the county snapshot provides a matching 5.3-acre parcel anchor. They do not establish a surveyed footprint, title history, current owner, or independently verified architectural significance. The displayed point is the parcel’s representative point, not the building footprint.
Open questions
- Is the Bill Vann identified as the house’s occupant in the 2014 property profile the same Bill Vann a 2005 forum thread credits as the author of the novel Retired?
- Does the property remain in Vann family ownership, or has title changed since the 2014 profile and the 2026 county parcel snapshot?
If you can answer any of these, or correct anything above, the archive wants to hear it — see Corrections.
Sources
- A community recommendation identifies Bill Vann as the author of the novel *Retired*, says the book uses Beaver Island extensively, and notes that it was available through mainland and island retail channels. This is evidence of local circulation and literary association, not a bibliographic record or proof that every fictional location corresponds to the island.forum · www.beaverislandforum.com · 00 · t000302
- The property profile describes Bill Vann's 2,400-square-foot three-bedroom house on a 5.37-acre lot with 169.5 feet of beach frontage. It places the approach by Betsy Smith Trail and describes the house's lighthouse-like tower, but does not give a surveyed address, coordinates, deed, or formal structure name.
- Listing metadata gives a Betsy Smith Trail address, 5.37-acre lot, 2,400 square feet, and 2000 construction year. It is a listing record, not a deed, architectural survey, or proof that every profile detail remains current.
- PIN 012-019-005-50 is a 5.3-acre taxable parcel with situs 29320 Betsy Smith Trl and a matching address record. Its representative point is used as the property anchor for the listed 5.37-acre house site; it does not establish a surveyed building footprint, title history, or current condition.county · charlevoix · parcels_arcgis · 2026-08-01 · island_parcel_attributes
- Address-level point used to improve the map link for the house; it is not a surveyed building footprint or independent confirmation of the property profile’s architectural details.
Added 2 August 2026 · revised 6 August 2026. Recent changes
Cite this article
Beaver Island Archive, “Vann house on Betsy Smith Trail”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/structures/vann-house-betsy-smith-trail/, accessed [date], citing dakbaihay, Rich Gillespie, and participants, “Book out in print now,” Beaver Island Forum, February 24, 2005, topic 302. (and 4 further sources listed on the page).
Last revised 2026-08-06. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.
BibTeX for “Vann house on Betsy Smith Trail”RIS for “Vann house on Betsy Smith Trail”