Side 1
Michigan pioneer Elnathan Botsford settled this site in 1825. Harry Boyd Earhart of Detroit, president of the White Star Refining Corporation, purchased the farm in 1917 and named it "The Meadows." The Olmsted Brothers, nationally known landscape architects from Brookline, Massachusetts, planned and directed the development of the grounds, as well as the siting of the house. Many landscape elements of the original plan survive. Smith, Hinchman and Grylls of Detroit designed the house in the French Manor style. A significant feature of the manor, completed in 1936, is the Pewabic tile created for the Earharts by Mary Chase Perry Stratton. Harry and Carrie Earhart were noted philanthropists and patrons of the fine and performing arts.
Side 2
The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod purchased 234 acres of the Harry and Carrie Earhart estate in 1961 to construct the campus of Concordia College. The four-year liberal arts college opened in 1963. The manor initially served as a student activity center and housed faculty offices. In 1997 a rehabilitation project was undertaken to restore the architectural features of the house and adapt it for use as the Otto G. Schmid Center. Although converted to offices, much of the original fabric of the house remains intact, including decorative plaster, hardware,
crystal chandeliers, and the Pewabic tile elements: two "medieval" family crests, a metallic-glazed tile fountain, and the master bathroom.
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