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Overview and History
The W. K. Kellogg summer estate was built in 1925 - 1926 on the highest point overlooking Gull Lake. Kellogg and his second wife, Dr. Carrie Staines, commissioned the Grand Rapids architectural firm of Benjamin and Benjamin to design a Tudor style house on 32 acres of eroded cornfield. The site also includes a carriage house with chauffeur's residence, a greenhouse with potting shed, a caretaker's cottage, a boathouse, an authentic Dutch windmill and a lakeside pagoda. The architect also took advantage of "modern" conveniences as electricity and an underground sprinkling system.
The architects used Tudor inspired design elements: half-timbering, random brickwork on exterior window and door trims, leaded glass windows, quatrefoil detailing, coffered ceilings and oak paneled rooms.
The floor in the entryway, breakfast room and all of the bathrooms are tiled in Rookwood tile, as are the faces of two of the fireplaces. The fireplace in the billiard room is an especially unusual example of Rookwood tile showing two knights jousting with a castle in the background.
The entry stairway is ornately and beautifully hand carved oak. Ceilings in both the living room and the dining room are molded plaster in "Rose and Thistle" and quatrefoil designs respectively.
The Manor House was used by W. K. Kellogg, his second wife and the Kellogg children and grandchildren as a summer home until 1942, when Mr. Kellogg vacated the estate to allow it to be used by the Coast Guard as an induction and training center. As the war drew to a close, the site was used by Percy Jones Hospital in nearby Battle Creek as a rehabilitation center for wounded servicemen.
After Mr. Kellogg's death in 1951, the estate was given to Michigan State University and became part of the Kellogg Biological Station. Please refer back to the KBS Home Page for more information.
In 1998 with a generous grant from the Kellogg Foundation, the restoration of the Manor House was begun. Clay roof tiles were made for the new roof using the original molds, paint was tested to uncover the original colors, windows and doors were either replaced or repaired and the Rookwood tile, which in some cases had been painted over, was restored to its original beauty. Using photographs of the house when the Kellogg's were in residence and lists of original furnishings purchased from Marshall Fields, the interior furnishings were searched out to resemble the originals as closely as possible.
The gardens surrounding the house have been partially restored and the house is once again a beautiful and stately residence in a lovely lakeside setting. Close to Battle Creek and Kalamazoo, the Kellogg Manor House is a wonderful day trip for those interested in the history of the area, of Michigan, and of W.K.Kellogg and his philosophy of philanthropy and education.
