John Dodge House

Building

42°40′23″N 83°11′41″W / 42.67297°N 83.1947°W / 42.67297; -83.1947Named forJohn Francis DodgeCompleted1898

The John Dodge House is a farmhouse on the campus of Oakland University in Rochester Hills, Michigan. It was built in the late 19th century and later purchased by automobile pioneer John Francis Dodge and his wife Matilda Dodge Wilson as a weekend retreat home. It currently functions as an administrative and faculty office building for the university.^[1]

History

James L. Higgins purchased the land on which the house currently sits in 1896.^[2] He built the farmhouse in 1898 at a cost of $50,000. The Dodges purchased it a decade later in 1908,^[3] and expanded it from 14 rooms to 30.^[2]

Following Dodge's death in 1920, Matilda and her second husband Alfred Wilson further expanded the estate by building Meadow Brook Hall and other buildings. This area of Oakland University is known as Meadow Brook Farms and is on the National Register of Historic Places.^[4]

The John Dodge House has undergone renovations multiple times,^[3] most recently in 2000.^[2]

References

^ Grocki, David (14 October 2010). "Oakland has plenty of history -- and ghost stories". Oakland Press. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Oakland Regional Historic Sites - Property # 1518400001". Oakland Regional Historic Sites. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
^ ^a ^b "John Dodge Farmhouse". Buildings @ Oakland University. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
^ "MICHIGAN - Oakland County".