Free Felt Estate tours on Sunday

The Felt Estate’s “Free-for-All” mansion tours continue Sunday, Aug. 11, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the estate, 6597 138^th Ave.

The free tours kicked off on Mother’s Day and included a day on Father’s Day weekend. One was at the end of July.

Enter the mansion through the entrance with the pillars. Visitors can also tour the chapel and the Carriage House on the property in Laketown Township.

Additional tour times were identified as one of the estate’s priorities based on a community survey last fall.

The next free self-guided tour is 1-4 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 8.

Regular self-guided tours

Normally, self-guided tours are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors (60+), $5 for children 8 and older, and children 7 and under are free. Tickets may be purchased upon arrival. No advance reservations are required.

A self-guided tour generally lasts about an hour guided by a booklet including architectural and historical details about the estate. Tour times vary by season and are listed on the event calendar.

For more on the tours and the calendar, visit here.

The Felt Mansion is handicap-accessible on the first floor only. Visitors must be able to navigate stairs to view the upper levels.

About the mansion

The 25-room Felt Mansion was completed in 1928 by Dorr Felt, inventor of the Comptometer, a basic adding machine.

After Felt’s death, the property was purchased by the St. Augustine Seminary for a school then, in the 1970s, by the State of Michigan to use as a prison. After the prison and Michigan State Police post that was in the mansion closed in the 1990s, Laketown Township purchased the property.

The mansion has been restored to its 1920s grandeur and is now a top destination for weddings and features a summer concert series.

For more on the mansion, visit here.