During the summer months, the Dodge and Wilsons cooled off with a splash in their peanut-shaped pool on the estate. Built around 1936, the pool was an oasis, featuring extensive landscaping with birch trees, Chinese juniper, and honeysuckle, along with ... Read more
Known as “Detroit’s #1 Glamor Girl” for her sparkling personality, penchant for adventures, and impeccable style, Frances Dodge embarked on a world tour in 1934. She treated her mother Matilda and stepfather Alfred Wilson to a six month long journey ... Read more
The holidays were always a special time for the Dodge-Wilson family. We’re sharing some of their favorite memories and traditions in a special holiday edition of our Estate Stories series. Giving from the Heart The holidays at Meadow Brook meant ... Read more
Happy Halloween from Meadow Brook Hall! Dating back almost 2,000 years to Ireland, Halloween celebrations have changed quite a lot through the decades. This year we’re looking back on the history of Halloween and the past celebrations of this frightful ... Read more
On the 81st birthday of Matilda Dodge Wilson, the founder of Oakland University, the students of OU planned a special – and mischievous – surprise. At the stroke of midnight on October 19, 1964 Matilda was presented with a “borrowed” ... Read more
It’s International Dog Day and we’re celebrating some of the beloved pets from the Dodge and Wilson family with stories of the dogs of Meadow Brook. Throughout the history of Meadow Brook Hall and farms, dogs were always running around ... Read more
Meadow Brook’s historic Rose Garden is in full bloom! This oval-shaped, unique garden was a favorite of Matilda Dodge Wilson, and one of the many planned gardens Meadow Brook originally designed. In 1925 while the inside of the historic mansion ... Read more
On June 29, 1925, Matilda and Alfred Wilson were married at the grand Dodge Mansion in Grosse Pointe. Alfred Wilson told the Detroit News, “I am very happy today, of course. It is one of the supreme days in any ... Read more
In a global effort to resurrect recognition for great female artists, Rosa Bonheur’s work has found renewed popularity in the art world—and at Meadow Brook Hall. Bonheur was the most famous female artist in the 19th century whose work focused ... Read more
Meadow Brook’s Lost Painting Project has restored a former painting to a place of prominence inside the Great Hall, new to visitors but quite familiar to the family and the estate. Adorning the red velvet in front of the organ ... Read more
Fifty years after being locked in a vault, a new – but very old – book-sparks interest – and a surprise discovery – at Meadow Brook. In the Dodge and Wilson family’s collection of more than 1,600 books, the Atlas ... Read more
While some of Meadow Brook Hall’s most famous features are its soaring stone architecture, beautiful dark wood details and carved plaster ceilings, the Sun Porch has an aesthetic that is all its own. With sunlight pouring through its floor-to-ceiling ... Read more
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