Scripps Mansion
Encyclopedia
The Scripps Mansion is a Tudor style mansion
located in Lake Orion, Michigan
. The buildings and surrounding land are known collectively as The William E. Scripps Estate.
for his family in 1927, it now serves as a Catholic
Guest House
and Retreat Center. Scripps, the son of the founder of the Detroit News and WWJ radio
, began the farm as a "hobby", before eventually settling. It is currently not open to the public due to ongoing repairs, but tours and events have been offered in the past to showcase the interior design
and garden
.
The farmland of 3000 acres (12.1 km²) was purchased by Scripps in 1916 from several different landowners. At its peak, the farm featured angus cattle
, cows, swine, sheep, and poultry
. During the Depression years
, the farmhands and mansion servants all lived on the property. A small one-room schoolhouse for children of farm employees was established in 1925, and in 1952 was converted into an Episcopalian
church .
Amelia Earhart
, at the request of Scripps, flew an experimental glider
at the property in 1929 .
in 1956.
The farmland and lakes are now mostly parks for Orion Township
, Oakland County
, and the state of Michigan
; (Civic Center Park, Orion Oaks and Bald Mountain Recreation Area
, respectively). The original farmhouses and buildings have been converted into the Canterbury Village shopping center .
The airstrip and field used by Earhart is now used as an area for radio controlled airplanes as part of Bald Mountain Recreation Area
.
The estate was added to the National Register of Historic Places
in 2007.
Mansion
A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...
located in Lake Orion, Michigan
Lake Orion, Michigan
Lake Orion is a village in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,973 at the 2010 census. "Lake Orion" is often used to describe both the village and the much larger Orion Township, of which the village is a part....
. The buildings and surrounding land are known collectively as The William E. Scripps Estate.
History
Built by William Edmund ScrippsWilliam Edmund Scripps
William Edmund Scripps was a noted newspaper publisher with The Detroit News, pioneer aviator; and one of the original founders of WWJ radio station.-Family:...
for his family in 1927, it now serves as a Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
Guest House
Guest House
Guest House is a non-profit, charitable organization dedicated to the treatment of Catholic priests, deacons, brothers, seminarians who suffer from alcoholism, other chemical dependencies and other addictions involving food and gambling...
and Retreat Center. Scripps, the son of the founder of the Detroit News and WWJ radio
WWJ (AM)
WWJ is Detroit, Michigan's only 24-hour all-news radio station. Broadcasting at 950 kHz, the station is owned and operated by CBS Corporation subsidiary CBS Radio. The station first went on the air on August 20, 1920 with the call sign 8MK...
, began the farm as a "hobby", before eventually settling. It is currently not open to the public due to ongoing repairs, but tours and events have been offered in the past to showcase the interior design
Interior design
Interior design describes a group of various yet related projects that involve turning an interior space into an effective setting for the range of human activities are to take place there. An interior designer is someone who conducts such projects...
and garden
Garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...
.
The farmland of 3000 acres (12.1 km²) was purchased by Scripps in 1916 from several different landowners. At its peak, the farm featured angus cattle
Angus cattle
Angus cattle are a breed of cattle much used in beef production. They were developed from cattle native to the counties of Aberdeenshire and Angus in Scotland, and are known as Aberdeen Angus in most parts of the world....
, cows, swine, sheep, and poultry
Poultry
Poultry are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of producing eggs, meat, and/or feathers. These most typically are members of the superorder Galloanserae , especially the order Galliformes and the family Anatidae , commonly known as "waterfowl"...
. During the Depression years
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, the farmhands and mansion servants all lived on the property. A small one-room schoolhouse for children of farm employees was established in 1925, and in 1952 was converted into an Episcopalian
Episcopal Church (United States)
The Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church found mainly in the United States , but also in Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...
church .
Amelia Earhart
Amelia Earhart
Amelia Mary Earhart was a noted American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first woman to receive the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean...
, at the request of Scripps, flew an experimental glider
Glider aircraft
Glider aircraft are heavier-than-air craft that are supported in flight by the dynamic reaction of the air against their lifting surfaces, and whose free flight does not depend on an engine. Mostly these types of aircraft are intended for routine operation without engines, though engine failure can...
at the property in 1929 .
Today
Scripps died in 1952, and much of the farm was sold at auction. A large part of the collection of European paintings from the estate was donated to the Detroit Institute of ArtsDetroit Institute of Arts
The Detroit Institute of Arts is a renowned art museum in the city of Detroit. In 2003, the DIA ranked as the second largest municipally owned museum in the United States, with an art collection valued at more than one billion dollars...
in 1956.
The farmland and lakes are now mostly parks for Orion Township
Orion Township, Michigan
Orion Charter Township is a charter township of Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 35,394 at the 2010 census. The official motto of the township and village is "Where living is a vacation". Orion Township contains the much smaller village of Lake Orion...
, Oakland County
Oakland County, Michigan
-Demographics:As of the 2010 Census, there were 1,202,362 people, 471,115 households, and 315,175 families residing in the county. The population density as of the 2000 census was 1,369 people per square mile . There were 492,006 housing units at an average density of 564 per square mile...
, and the state of Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
; (Civic Center Park, Orion Oaks and Bald Mountain Recreation Area
Bald Mountain Recreation Area
Bald Mountain Recreation Area is a state park located near Lake Orion, Michigan off M-24. It consists of some of most the rugged terrain in southeastern Michigan....
, respectively). The original farmhouses and buildings have been converted into the Canterbury Village shopping center .
The airstrip and field used by Earhart is now used as an area for radio controlled airplanes as part of Bald Mountain Recreation Area
Bald Mountain Recreation Area
Bald Mountain Recreation Area is a state park located near Lake Orion, Michigan off M-24. It consists of some of most the rugged terrain in southeastern Michigan....
.
The estate was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 2007.