Laketown Township -
The Felt Estate is s storied property situated among the sand dunes north of Saugatuck. The keepers of the estate's
website do a great job of highlighting the deep and interesting history of the state, so I'll just summarize a few key points here -
Dorr Eugene Felt was born in Wisconsin in 1892. In 1882 he moved to Chicago, where he worked as a machinist and inventor. He became a self-made millionaire; by the end of his life he had registered 75 patents. Dorr remains most famous for his invention of an early calculator-type device named the "Comptometer" - which could perform basic mathematic functions.
In the early 1900's, Dorr used his money to establish an estate near the shore of Lake Michigan (
State Park Dr, Holland, MI). Over time, it developed into a 1,000-acre farm known as "Shore Acres Farm" - that included a beach house, carriage house, farm house, and petting zoo. The grounds would eventually boast a 25-room, 12,000+ SF mansion, which was built from 1925 - 1928 and lovingly named "Agnes' House", in honor of his wife.
Sadly, Dorr's wife Agnes passed away just six weeks after the family had moved into the new house. Dorr died just a year and a half later. The family retained ownership of the mansion and grounds until 1949, when it was sold to a Chicago-based diocese and Saint Augustine Seminary, a Catholic prep school for young men, was established. The buildings on the grounds were repurposed as classroom space and housing. As the seminary grew, a massive new school was constructed on a ridge west of the mansion, and the mansion became housing for nuns.
Around 1978, the State of Michigan bought the property and turned 950 acres of it into the Saugatuck Dunes Date Park. The former seminary school was converted into a prison (Saugatuck Dunes Correctional Facility) and the mansion was used as a State Police office. After the prison closed (c. 1992), Laketown Township eventually purchased the property for one dollar, with the stipulation that the mansion and ground be used for the public and not sold or used for private enterprise. The school has long been demolished, but the mansion was restored and now serves as an event center.
Historic views of the mansion -
Source:
feltmansion.org
The mansion, c. 2020 -
Source:
Saugatuck Douglas Area Convention and Visitors Bureau
If you are ever in West Michigan make a point to check out this unique landmark! It is a great restoration success story, summarized below -
The Felt Estate - A Story of Restoration:
• Video Link