In January 1920, the men behind the biggest car brands in the world (Dodge Brothers, Ford, Olds, Chevrolet) gathered for the New York Auto Show. Lamentably, the show was set in the midst of the global 1918 Influenza Pandemic, which claimed two more victims. John and Horace Dodge. John died in New York after contracting the disease and Horace died before the end of the year.
Although John Dodge never lived at Meadow Brook Hall (it was built years after his death), he is intrinsically linked to it through his impact on Meadow Brook Farms and the incredible Dodge Brothers wealth that enabled it to be built.
John Dodge (1864-1920) and his brother Horace (1868-1920) were born into an industrious but humble family in Niles, Michigan. The brothers specialized in machine shop precision part-making and worked on typographs and bicycles before automobiles. Throughout their lives, the Dodge brothers brought an incredible talent, skill and dedication to their craft.
Bold and brash, coarse and competitive, dynamic and driven… this is the larger-than-life reputation of John and Horace Dodge – founders of the Dodge Brothers Motor Car Company.
Meadow Brook Hall history officially begins in 1908 when John and Matilda Dodge bought a 320-acre farm in Rochester as a weekend country retreat. At the time, Oakland County was very much “the country,” with rolling Irish hills, rich natural resources and very little traffic.
What began as a working farm grew over time to include more than 2,000 acres and several residences, including the historic mansion itself. Under Matilda’s management, Meadow Brook Farms grew profitable and gained a reputation for quality produce and livestock. Famed Detroit boxer Joe Louis had an estate nearby and always got his eggs from Meadow Brook Farms.
John and Horace used the Meadow Brook Farms property as a proving ground to test the new Dodge automobile in secrecy. The pair did a lot of work there, treating it as a satellite office of the Dodge Motor Car Company. The Dodge brothers believed so much in the benefits of the outdoors that they even invited their employees from the city out to relax and rejuvenate.
One can see the impact John’s life had on others by their response to his death, which included a more than 300 person escort for John’s casket when it arrived at the Detroit train station. Dodge Brothers Motor Car Company employees, of which there were 18,000, waited in a line for hours down Woodward Avenue to view his body and pay their respects.
Be captivated by the people, places and tales that make Meadow Brook Hall so remarkable. Our Estate Stories series unlocks the vaults, dives into the archives and seeks out tales of the Great Estate to pique your interest and enrich your life.
