First Felt Free-For-All brings out Easter finery

Visitors to the Felt Mansion, 6597 138th Ave. in Laketown Township, turn in their scavenger hunt forms to Kelsey Blair, Felt operations manager, right, for treats on Sunday, April 5, 2026. In center are Abby McAfee and her daughter, Willa.

Easter Sunday at The Felt Estate – bow ties and suit jackets, flowery dresses and bunny ears. Lots of bunny ears.

Abby McAfee and her rabbit-ear-equipped daughter, Willa, 10, explored the mansion, 6597 138^th Ave. in Laketown Township, for the first time during the first Free-For-All for the 2026 season on April 5.

“Look at that portrait,” Abby said, pointing to the picture of Agnes Felt in the sun-filled sitting room of the mansion’s matron.

They enjoyed the restored 1920s building while searching for clues in the Easter-themed indoor scavenger hunt for children under 17 that included candy and prizes. Participants marked items off as they found them. Once completed, they received an egg filled with either candy or a toy.

Karen Troutman helps one of her daughters with their scavenger hunt at The Felt Mansion during the season’s first Free-For-All at the Felt Mansion, 6597 138th Ave. in Laketown Township on Sunday, April 5, 2026. Note the Carriage House in the background.

Free-For-All Day events — self-guided tours at no charge — are the first Sunday of the month through October. They started in 2024 as a way to share local history and thank the community for its support in the restoration process.

“We’ve never been inside before,” said Karen Troutman as her daughters Scarlett, 8, and Emma, 7, searched the room of Agnes Felt, wife of Dorr Felt who built the summer home in the dunes. They checked off items and headed down the hallway joining dozens of others in the hunt.

At the end of their scavenger hunt, each participant picked a treat-filled egg from a basket.

Felt Estate Operations Manager Kelsey Blair offers treat-filled eggs to participants in the season’s first Free-For-All at the Felt Mansion, 6597 138th Ave. in Laketown Township on Sunday, April 5, 2026.

The tours

The next Free-For-All tour is Sunday, May 3, from 1-4 p.m.

Regular self-guided tours in April are 2-7 p.m. Mondays, noon to 5 p.m. Tuesdays and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesdays

Self-guided tours are usually $10 for adults 18 and up, $8 for seniors and students (60 and older and college student), and $5 for people 8 to 17 years old. Admission is free for those under 8 years old.

A self-guided tour generally takes about 45 minutes to an hour with direction by a tour booklet, which includes architectural and historical details about the estate, plus two videos that play on repeat. The Felt Mansion can accommodate groups of any size, and visitors of all ages are welcome.

Only the first floor of the mansion is handicap accessible. All other floors are accessible via stairs only.

Guided tours are available on the first and third Tuesdays of April.

For details, visit The Felt Estate here.

About the Mansion

Construction on the mansion began in 1925 by Dorr Felt, inventor of the Comptometer, the first machine that could do all four math functions — add, subtract, multiply and divide. The building was finished in 1928.

Felt’s wife, Agnes, died in 1928, six weeks after the house was complete. Dorr died two years later.

The property went on to serve as a minor seminary for the Augustinian order (attended by Pope Leo XIV), a state prison, and a Michigan State Police post before the property was purchased by Laketown Township.

Today, following years of restoration by the Friends of the Felt Estate, the mansion is a top cultural, educational, and event destination, welcoming thousands of visitors annually.