Dorr E. Felt Mansion

Dorr E. Felt Mansion
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Nearest city	Saugatuck, Michigan
Coordinates	42°41′49″N 86°11′37″W / 42.69694°N 86.19361°WCoordinates: 42°41′49″N 86°11′37″W / 42.69694°N 86.19361°W
Area	3 acres (1.2 ha)
Built	1926
Architectural style	Classical Revival
NRHP Reference #	96001418[1]
Added to NRHP	December 12, 1996

The Felt Mansion is a house located in Holland, Michigan. It was built by Dorr Felt as a summer home for his wife Agnes, completed in 1928.^[2] The Felt Mansion became the St. Augustine Catholic Seminary preparatory school in 1949. The Mansion served as a chapel and housed priests and students. In 1962 the Augustinians leased the Mansion to Dominican cloistered nuns. In 1977 the Felt Estate was purchased by the State of Michigan.

In 1963 the Order of Saint Augustine constructed a Seminary on the Felt Estate. This preparatory school contained a chapel and housing for priests as well as students in grades 9-12. The State of Michigan used the Felt Mansion as a state police post starting in 1977 and converted the school building into the Saugatuck Dunes Correctional Facility.

In 1995 the state sold 44 acres of the Estate, including the Mansion and prison building, to Laketown Township for $1, stipulating that the mansion be preserved and that it be owned and operated by the public. The Friends of the Felt Estate formed in 2002 and began restoration of the house and grounds. The property is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

According to legend, the mansion is a place where melon heads lived.^[3]

References

1. National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
2. "A Colorfully Woven History" FeltMansion.org. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
3. The origin of the Melon Heads Grand Haven Tribune. Retrieved 29 September 2013.

External links

• Felt Mansion website