This historical marker was approved in 1997 and erected in 1999.
The front states:
"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."
The back states:
"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."