History

Brook Lodge Hotel and Conference Center, owned by Michigan State University, is a full-service conference center available to the public. The historical evolution of the estate is a remarkable story as its origins date back to Dr. W. E. Upjohn, founder of the Upjohn Company. Dr. Will, as he was known, bought a forty-acre farm in 1895. One of the original buildings on the property was a creamery, which he soon converted to a summer cottage for himself and his family.

This peaceful country retreat eventually became his preferred location for private and business entertaining. In 1956, twenty-four years after Dr. Will's death, the Upjohn Company purchased Brook Lodge from the family estate and began its transformation into a full-service conference center for the exclusive use of Upjohn employees.

The Awards Hall (now the W.E. Upjohn Hall) was so named because it previously housed the William E. Upjohn Awards, given each year for recognition of special accomplishments. Memorabilia from the early years of the Upjohn Company are displayed along with Dr. Will's original desk and chair from his Kalamazoo medical office. Most of the oil paintings in the building are originals that once hung in the family cottage.

During the time that the creamery was being converted to family living quarters, Dr. Will erected a combination garage and guesthouse on the spot where the Conference Hall now stands. When the Conference Hall was built, the guesthouse - now the Carriage House - was moved to its present location.

Though Dr. Will found his Brook Lodge retreat an ideal location for doing business, he did not like the smell of cooking interfering with his work. So in 1927, he built the Dining Hall that he used for both private and business entertaining.

The original landscaping of Brook Lodge included a swimming pool, tennis court and walking paths. Dr. Will also planted thousands of trees and flowers. Though irises were his first love, he turned his attention to peonies that flourished in the local soil. According to varying reports, Dr. Will grew from 400 to 675 varieties of peonies, forty acres of glorious red, white and pink blossoms. Even the carpet in the Dining Hall was custom designed to incorporate Dr. Will's beloved peonies!

Alongside the millpond is a charming Japanese garden. In 1967, a Japanese guest who was particularly pleased with his stay at Brook Lodge sent an authentic temple lantern as a token of his appreciation. With the help of a Japanese architect, who insisted that every element "feel right" in order to "look right," the temple garden came to life.

Visitors to the conference center may not notice or fully appreciate the vast tract of property that makes up Brook Lodge Hotel & Conference Resort - 637 acres, of which forty are maintained for the enjoyment of guests. Space not used by guests is leased to the adjacent Sherman Lake YMCA and Kellogg Forest, which is maintained by Michigan State University.

Like the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center on the campus of Michigan State University, Brook Lodge provides an additional venue to foster hands-on learning for student interns in The School of Hospitality Business at Michigan State University as well as other colleges. Jim Brand, general manager of Brook Lodge states, "we have a beautiful, unique facility and we have a lot to offer in terms of a learning experience, especially with the challenges of working on a campus of multiple buildings versus one hotel property."

The Brook Lodge Hotel and Conference Center staff is pleased to provide truly unique internship experiences. "Kellogg is fast-paced and high volume; Brook Lodge is more about individual treatment, VIP, if you will, " says Kellogg Hotel General Manager Joel Heberlein. Heberlein would like to expand the internship program to other schools including the Culinary Institute of America, Johnson and Wales and Kendall College, as well as expand into new areas including horticulture, crop and soil science, and forestry.

At Brook Lodge, student interns are housed on the campus and can focus on a particular hospitality area or rotate in three of sixteen specialties. Brand values the fresh perspective interns bring to the operation. "We don't let egos get in the way of improving how things might get done. We can help build the fire under the passion with this experience."