The Homestead was built by Reuben Warner in 1828, when he arrived from Connecticut with his wife and infant son. Warner was a farmer and first built a log cabin for the family’s “homestead.” His son inherited the property, and it was converted to a boardinghouse to take advantage of the growing tourism trade.
The Homestead was an early boarding house in GOTL. It still stands on the east end of The Strip.
His children became owners and managers of the boarding house, which was sold in the 1920s. Prior to that, Meda Warner ran The Homestead.
Tomas and Maggie Kainaroi purchased the property in 1956 from Reuben Warner’s great, great granddaughter. Tomas used the property as a summer home and office for the cottage business. He renovated the property and renamed it the Lake Crest Hotel. A second renovation by Kainaroi, in 1976, carved out three apartments in the building and gave it the name New Haven Apartments.
The Homestead was one of the boarding houses in GOTL. From the collection of the Ashtabula County Historical Society, Jennie Munger Gregory Museum.
Throughout these renovations, the original beams and stonewalls built by Reuben Warner were left undisturbed.
The property is no longer rented to the public; the four children of Tomas and Maggie Kainaroi use the apartments for their personal lodging while tending to business matters. The expanding family — eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren — dictate a need for the space!
See also “Stegner’s Homestead,” a different property, and The Oakmont.