Turner-Dodge House

Turner-Dodge House. . , Side A , James Turner, a Lansing pioneer, originally owned this property. A native of New York, Turner came to Lansing in 1847 from nearby Mason, where he was a merchant. He immediately opened a general store in the Seymour House, the first hotel in north Lansing. He was appointed deputy state treasurer in 1860 and elected to the state senate in 1866. Interested in education, he helped found the Misses Rogers' Seminary, later called the Michigan Female College (1855-1869). He was also active in the construction of plank roads and railroads in the Lansing area. Frank L. Dodge married Turner's daughter Abby in 1888 and purchased this house from Turner's widow in 1899. Dodge, a Democrat, was elected to the state legislature in 1883 and 1885. He was city alderman for twelve years and was active on several civic boards.

Side B , Gracefully situated high on the bank of the Grand River, this Classical Revival-style mansion built in 1858, was the home of prominent Lansing merchant James Turner (1820-1869). In 1899, Turner's son-in-law, Frank L. Dodge (1853-1929), bought and enlarged it. The three-story building, designed by Lansing architect Darius Moon, features stately wooden Ionic columns and a decorative cornice. Its interior, with its large classical doorways and several fireplaces, is adorned with beveled and leaded French windows. After remaining in the family for a century, the property was purchased by the Great Lakes Bible College in 1958. In 1974 the City of Lansing acquired it for a park. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972