About

The main barn at Blu Dot Farm was originally built sometime in the late 1800s. The exact dates are unclear, but the original property was an asparagus farm extending past the Charlevoix Rod and Gun Club to around See Road. Asparagus can still be spotted growing along the property, particularly near the fenceline alongside the bike path.

At some point in the mid-60's the Dyksterhouse family built the main residence, converted the lower level of the barn into horse stables, built the half-mile race track, and constructed several more barns on the property. The Dyksterhouses bred and trained Standardbred Harness-Racing horses that they raced all around the state. While mainly horses were raced around the track, it's said that locals used to race cars on the site back in the day as well. The second horse barn was built to house the stallions and studs right alongside the track. To this day there are still Michigan Harness-Racers with the last name Dyksterhouse. It is said at some point during this time period Blu Dot acted as an "overnight hotel" for an elephant and various other circus animals during Charlevoix's Venetian Festival. With acres of grazing space and 41 boxed stalls the farm surely could host a lot of animals at a time.

In 1998 the upper loft of the detached horse stable was converted into an apartment, and in 2001 the large indoor riding arena barn located in the middle of the race track was constructed. At this time, the eastern half of the property was seperate and known as the Applegate farm, with a sign out front during the 2000s advertising its horse boarding services. Interestingly enough, the previous owners of the property planned to build a house just behind where the vines are now located, which is the reason for the strange curve the driveway makes as it passes through the vines to the barns in the back.