Petoskey
Stafford’s Bay View Inn
John Wesley Howard's 1886 Woodland Avenue House in Bay View, later the Howard House summer hotel; the Smith family ran it for more than 60 years.
- Built
- 1886Built 1886 by John Wesley Howard as the Woodland Avenue House; renamed the Howard House in 1888 and the Bay View Inn in 1935.
- Style
- Victorian
- Type
- Inn
- Credentials
- Inside a National Register historic district
The story
John Wesley Howard built the Woodland Avenue House in 1886 in the young Methodist summer community of Bay View; renamed the Howard House in 1888, it served as a summer hotel. Later called the Roselawn, it took the name Bay View Inn in 1935. Stafford Smith first came in 1957, met his wife Janice there, and the Smith family owned and ran the inn for more than 60 years. It now belongs to the Cotton Collection and stays open year-round.
Good to know
- Breakfast: available
- No pets
- Address: 2011 Woodland Avenue, Petoskey, MI 49770
Sources (4)
Last verified October 2026. Details change; confirm with the inn before you book.