The Earhart Manor is available for public rental for weddings, receptions, meetings, and film shoots. To learn more about Earhart Manor rentals, click here or call (734) 995-7336.
Brief History of the Earhart Manor
In 1999, the Earhart Manor was designated as a Historic Home by the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) of the Michigan Department of History, Arts and Libraries, and was commemorated through the placement of a historical marker.
The Earhart Manor was designed by the architectural firm of Smith, Hinchman, and Grylls from Detroit, and built in 1935-36 by Harry Boyd Earhart, former owner of the White Star Oil Refining Company. After retiring from the company and selling it, he and his wife, Carrie, decided to build the Manor on their 300 acre estate along Geddes Road, which they called “The Meadows,” replacing the farmhouse he and his family had lived in since the 1920’s. Mr. and Mrs. Earhart living in the home until their deaths; she in 1940 and he in 1954.
In 1961, a large portion of the vast estate was sold to the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod for the establishment of Concordia College. In 1963, Concordia was founded as a junior college, and the Manor remained, serving students, faculty, and staff in a variety of ways, enduring as a student center until the renovation in 1996. Concordia became a 4-year college in 1976, and continues to offer a Christ-centered, liberal arts education at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
After a generous contribution to fund restoration of the historic building, the Manor reopened in 1997 as the “Otto G. Schmid Center for Administrative Services.” It now serves as the college’s front door, restored to resemble the glorious residence it once was.
The Ann Arbor Observer goes into further detail in a June 1997 article.
