The Scripps Mansion (originally called Moulton Manor) is a

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

Tudor Revival Tudor Revival architecture (also known as mock Tudor in the UK) first manifested itself in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture ...

style

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property l ...

located in

Orion Township, Michigan Orion Charter Township ( ) is a charter township of Oakland County, Michigan, United States. The population was 39,816 as on July 1, 2019. The official motto of the township and village is "Where living is a vacation". "Lake Orion" is often used ...

. The buildings and surrounding land are known collectively as the William E. Scripps Estate. Since 1956, the property has been part of the campus of

Guest House A guest house (also guesthouse) is a kind of lodging. In some parts of the world (such as the Caribbean), guest houses are a type of inexpensive hotel-like lodging. In others, it is a private home that has been converted for the exclusive use o ...

, a

residential treatment center A residential treatment center (RTC), sometimes called a rehab, is a live-in health care facility providing therapy for substance use disorders, mental illness, or other behavioral problems. Residential treatment may be considered the "last-ditch ...

for

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

clergy. The estate was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2007.

History

The mansion was built in 1927 for

William Edmund Scripps William Edmund Scripps (May 6, 1882 – June 12, 1952) was a pioneer aviator and the publisher of ''The Detroit News''. He was also an original founder of the WWJ radio station. Biography He was born on May 6, 1882 to James E. Scripps, the ...

and his family. Scripps, the founder of the WWJ radio station (and son of the founder of the ''

Detroit News ''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival ''Detroit Free Press'' building. ''The News'' absorbed the ''Detroit Tribune'' on Februar ...

''), had initially established a farm on the property as a "hobby", before eventually settling there. 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 is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordina ...

and

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate both ...

. The farmland of was purchased by Scripps in 1916 from several different landowners. At its peak, the farm featured

Angus Angus may refer to: Media * ''Angus'' (film), a 1995 film * ''Angus Og'' (comics), in the ''Daily Record'' Places Australia * Angus, New South Wales Canada * Angus, Ontario, a community in Essa, Ontario * East Angus, Quebec Scotland * An ...

cattle,

cows Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

, swine,

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...

, and

poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for their eggs, their meat or their feathers. These birds are most typically members of the superorder Galloanserae (fowl), especially the order Galliformes (which includes chickens, quails, a ...

. 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, it was converted into an

Episcopalian Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the l ...

church.

Amelia Earhart Amelia Mary Earhart ( , born July 24, 1897; disappeared July 2, 1937; declared dead January 5, 1939) was an American aviation pioneer and writer. Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She set many oth ...

, at the request of Scripps, flew an experimental

glider Glider may refer to: Aircraft and transport Aircraft * Glider (aircraft), heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight ** Glider (sailplane), a rigid-winged glider aircraft with an undercarriage, used in the sport of glidin ...

at the property in 1929. Scripps, a pilot himself, became a glider enthusiast and formed his own company (Gliders, Inc.) in 1929. He began his venture by manufacturing a primary type glider.

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 Arts The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), located in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, has one of the list of largest art museums, largest and most significant art collections in the United States. With over 100 galleries, it covers with a major renovation a ...

in 1956. The farmland and lakes are now mostly parks for Orion Township,

Oakland County Oakland County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is part of the metropolitan Detroit area, located northwest of the city. As of the 2020 Census, its population was 1,274,395, making it the second-most populous county in Michigan, b ...

, and the state of

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

(Civic Center Park, Orion Oaks and

Bald Mountain Recreation Area Bald Mountain State Recreation Area is a state park located near Lake Orion, Michigan off M-24. It consists of some of the most rugged terrain in southeastern Michigan. The recreation area is composed of a North Unit and a South Unit, which are ...

, respectively). Some of the former farm buildings were 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

References

External links

Guest House – History of Scripps Mansion

William E. Scripps Estate
{{Authority control Houses in Oakland County, Michigan National Register of Historic Places in Oakland County, Michigan Scripps family