Frank J. Cobbs was born in Jackson County, Indiana in 1872, and was adopted by Jonathan W. Cobbs.[3] The Cobbs family soon moved to Cadillac where the elder Cobbs purchased a sawmill and, along with William W. Mitchell, founded the lumbering firm of Cobbs & Mitchell. Cobbs & Mitchell was among the largest lumbering firms in Michigan, supplying hardwood flooring and other products to consumers. At its high point, Cobbs & Mitchell used 100,000 feet of raw lumber daily.[4] Cobbs & Mitchell's operations played a major role in the economic development of Cadillac in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.[2]
Frank Cobbs attended prep school at the University of Notre Dame, later attended the Michigan Military Academy, then obtained a degree from Olivet College in 1894.[3] He returned to Cadillac to work at Cobbs & Mitchell, and in 1895 organized the Cadillac State Bank. However, soon after, his father Jonathon Cobbs became ill. As the only son, Frank Cobbs took over his father's place at Cobbs & Mitchell; the elder Cobbs eventually died in 1898.[3] Cobbs & Mitchell continued to grow under Frank Cobbs's management, with considerable investment in the Cadillac area and growing holdings in the Pacific Northwest.[5]
Cobbs married Maude Louise Belcher in April 1898;[3] the same year, he had this house built for himself and his family by local builder James R. Fletcher.[2] It is thought that Detroit architect George D. Mason designed the house for Cobbs.[6] In 1905, additions were made to the house, including adding a reading room over the porte cochere and extending the east wing.[6] In 1912, the Cobbs moved to Oregon to supervise the Cobbs & Mitchell logging operations there, and in 1917 had an impressive Jacobethan mansion built in Portland.[5] Maud Louise Cobbs died in Portland in 1940; Frank J. Cobbs died in 1951.[5]
