If you start at Ford Road and drive south on Canton Township's five-lane Canton Center Road, you will pass the normal, modern-day sights: strip malls, condominiums, urgent cares, daycares and the fringes of well-maintained subdivisions.
Once you cross Palmer Road, however, there is a property on the right that — BAM! — catches your eye, even if you've driven past it 1,000 times.
It's frequently the subject of social media posts as it seems few township residents know much, if anything, about the property.
Built in 1896 by John S. Haggerty, who would serve as the Michigan's secretary of state for two years beginning in 1927, the one-of-a-kind mansion with beige exterior walls and a red roof is intriguing, to say the least.
Haggerty, public records note, was an original member of the Wayne County Road Commission and was a front-runner in the good roads movement.
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According to public records, the "Haggerty House" has over 10,000 square feet of floor space, a 3,500-square-foot basement and the property sprawls across approximately 20 acres.
The house has been vacant since 2011 when owner John Lasko passed away. During his final days, Lasko reportedly created a trust to care for the property, appointing a nephew as the trustee.
According to township historians, Lasko insisted that there be very limited use of the property after his death. There is a small meeting room in the property's carriage house that can be used by non-profits.
Lasko's wishes of being buried on the property were granted and his final resting place is marked by a shrine near the southwest corner of the property. Michigan allows home burials if a funeral director is hired to file the death certificate and oversee disposition, all local zoning laws are checked and the deceased did not have a contagious disease, according to romemonuments.com.
According to visitors to the home, it is equipped with an elevator and its third floor is large enough to host good-sized gatherings.
Haggerty built the home as a summer house for him and two spinster sisters, who often brought foster children out with them to spend the summer in the country.
Lasko was a boy who grew up across the road from Haggerty and was dirt poor. Local folklore includes an unconfirmed story relates that he would tell his mom, “Someday I’ll own that house!”
His proclamation came true when his Belleville business, Republic Tool and Die, evolved into a major national business, making Lasko a wealthy man.
Lasko never married and was childless, public records confirm. He was a big-game hunter and a very private person.
One historical footnote related to the property is that Lasko's trust forbids anyone from setting foot on the property, so if Canton Township ever expands an existing trail that runs parallel to the Rouge River, it will be required to be fenced off so no one trespasses onto Lasko's estate.
On Aug. 23, 2016, the Canton Township Board of Trustees approved a proposed minor planned development for the property maintained by the John C. Lasko Memorial Trust and managed by the Michigan Historic Preservation Network.
The PDD was needed to allow the property to be used for purposes other than single-family residential, notably, the trust proposed, "small gatherings by non-profit organizations in the carriage house."
Overnight stays on the property are not permitted, however, sporadic tours of the primary residence are allowed if associated with the Michigan Historic Preservation Network, Canton Township or the trust.
The trust has also agreed to grant an access easement to the township for future extension of the Rouge River pedestrian trail system along the south side of the property, and the construction of a sidewalk along Canton Center Road as its definite benefit for the Planned Development District.
Contact reporter Ed Wright at eawright@hometownlife.com or 517-375-1113.
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Century-old 'Haggerty House' in Canton cloaked in compelling mystery - Hometown Life
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