3 Bedroom Dome Home on Arbo Lake

Terri Haapoja & Sandra Ortman
Lakehomes.com Realty
866-327-9889

$197,500

A beautiful, magical dome home, nestled in 15.05 wooded acres offers a nurturing sanctuary. Spacious cedar deck and large 3 season gazebo overlook a small private lake alive with pan fish, bass and northern. An extraordinary peaceful place to live the green life. Amenities include beautiful sunsets, passive solar, family room with free standing fireplace, plus tons of storage.

Over the years a story has been woven about this land now called “Rainbow Ranch.”

Around the late 1800’s, loggers and settlers were flooding northern Minnesota to make a better life for themselves. The route between Bigfork and Grand Rapids became very popular as Bigfork became the gateway to the pines and Grand Rapids was the nearest town with supplies, a railroad and a hospital. Wanigans (large flat-bottomed boats) filled with supplies also made their way up and down the Prairie River near Rainbow Ranch.

The last overnight stopping place before reaching Grand Rapids from Bigfork and vice versa was here, at Rainbow Ranch. Mr. and Mrs. Harley Fitzgerald owned a large Quonset-type structure that was located near the willows southeast of the old barn. The building was constructed from logs and other materials “close at hand” Not only could the Fitzgerald’s tend horses and oxen overnight, they could also feed and house up to 100 (mostly male) two-legged guests. Mrs. Fitzgerald always had dozens of hard boiled eggs nestled in sawdust in a barrel on the porch so travelers could have a bit of sustenance before or after a long journey. She prepared them on one of her two “monstrous” eight burner ranges.

John Greenway, founder of the nearby mines, rode his beautiful white stallion here on occasion. He and President Teddy Roosevelt were “Rough Riders” together and Teddy made a trip up to northern Minnesota once and actually rode horses on this property with Greenway. At one point in his visit, Roosevelt “scooped up” the Fitzgerald’s grandson and took him for a short ride.

After Fitzgerald passed away in the 1920’s, his wife sold the property to Floyd Heinzer. It is said that he bought the property not because of the old farmhouse (which once stood between the barn and the dome), but because of the “state of the art” barn which included the first automatic cattle water system in Itasca County.

After the Heinzers’ sold the property, it changed hands a few times. The dome was built in the early 1980’s.

For the past 12 years Rainbow Ranch has been a gathering place for friends from all over the world. There have been three weddings on the property, two with hundreds of guests.

Arbo Lake, which fronts the property on the west, is actually owned by the four parties who live on the lake. Arbo Lake is a “non-meandering” lake, which means that the parties who own the lakeshore also actually own the lake bottom. It’s a very unusual situation, but it keeps the lake very private. The lake, which is rarely fished, has an abundance of northern, sunfish, crappies, bluegills and large mouth bass. The lake is swim able if the weed cutter is used once a week in the summer.

The land, the home and the lake are calming and serene… enjoy this sanctuary!

Property	Arbo Lake - Lake Front - House
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	2.00
Year Built	1983
Lot Size	15.05 acres
Acreage	15.05
Square Feet	2334
Community	Grand Rapids
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