Maple Grove is one of about fifty octagon buildings in Michigan. Harry Frink (1809-89), a farmer and master carpenter from New York State, built this house around 1850. Its octagonal plan reflects a national craze that followed the 1848 publication of A Home for All by New York phrenologist Orson Fowler. The book promoted the octagon form as providing more floor space per wall length and as more economical to build than standard houses.