Granot
Jahed Stetter
Granot Loma is probably the most impressive home on the Lake Superior shoreline. Rumor has it that the Kaufmans were not allowed to become members of the exclusive Huron Mountain Club, apparently because of their Jewish or Indian blood, so Louis G. Kaufman decided to build his own cottage along the lake. By the time he was done, it far outshone any cottage at the Huron Mountain Club and any home in Marquette as well. In fact, it is one of the most distinctive homes ever built.
The Kaufmans had no trouble attracting guests to the lodge when it was finished. George Gershwin himself picked out the grand piano (another would be chosen by Gershwin for Kaufman auditorium in the Graveraet School). Other famous visitors included Lionel Barrymore, Mary Pickford, Fred Astaire, Cole Porter, Alma Gluck, and Irene Castle. Entire Broadway troupes would come to entertain, complete bands would be transported here so the guests could dance, and a hundred guests at a time would descend on the lodge to go hunting and fishing.
Meanwhile, the Loma Farms flourished with thirty purebred Guernsey cows, two hundred Yorkshire pigs, one hundred fifty cows and race horses, and six hundred chickens. Mr. Kaufman even had polo ponies which he took with him each winter when he went to Florida.
When Mr. Kaufman died in 1942, his son Otto Young Kaufman continued to operate the farm until 1947 when it closed. Mrs. Kaufman died in 1956 in Monte Carlo. In her will, she left bequests to all her daughters and $80,000,000 in trust until the death of her last surviving daughter. The lodge was inherited by her daughter Marie Joan Kaufman and her husband Jack Martin.
For whatever reason, the Biddle marriage did not last, and Joan would go through a string of husbands, although she would have no more children. She married a man named Polk, divorced him, then married him again. She also married a man named Winterstien who was apparently a bully. Then in 1941, she embarked on her short-lived marriage to W.F. Ladd Jr. Her fifth divorce would be her last one. By 1946, she wed her sixth husband while still only thirty-nine years old.
After Joan Kaufman died in 1975, her husband Jack inherited the estate until his death in 1982. Then, Granot Loma was sold outside of the Kaufman family. Already in the 1970s, famed boxer Mohammed Ali had considered purchasing it, and Gerald Ford had thought about buying it to serve as his Michigan-based Western White House. The lodge was bought instead by Mr. L. Tom Baldwin, a bond trader and investor from Chicago for $4,255,000. After Baldwin made extensive repairs, he put it on the market again for $12,000,000 in 1990. When there were no takers, he continued to own the house as a vacation home to get away from the stress of the New York stock exchange. Today, he resides at Granot Loma full-time while operating his business. What better place to work from home?
Tyler R. Tichelaar is a seventh generation resident of Marquette and the author of several historical fiction novels, including The Marquette Trilogy, as well as the history book My Marquette: Explore the Queen City of the North. Learn more about him and his books at www.MarquetteFiction.com
Lucian Thomas Baldwin III is a bond trader investor and founder of the Baldwin Group of companies. He was described by the Wall Street Journal as the trader who can singlehandedly move the Treasury bond market. His preferred instrument to trade is the 30-year bond in the pits of the Chicago Board of Trade.
hello, i found this after looking up granot loma, my husband had to deliver a package to the lodge today and i got to ride with, it was amazing, i didnt even know it was there, so breathtaking in october, all i was able to see was the farm and the outside of the lodge but amazing. and i had to look up the history of this place.
Tyler,
I was very impressed with the accuracy your article and coming across it has brought back so many memories for me. Growing up with my brothers, Michael and Garrett both on the Farms and in the Lodge has been nothing short of extraordinary. With the passing of my older brother Michael 2 years ago, reading this had been bittersweet however it does bring back the times we used to play within the rooms of the lodge before Mr Baldwin purchased and renovated the place.
Thank you for your beautiful writings on the Upper Peninsula
Keep Them Coming
Tyler;
We met when I was working as a custodian at the First United Methidist Church. I dug out an article about the church to show you, and it turned out you had writen it.
I remember visting the farm and barns as a kid. My dad was a good freind of Jack Martins. He was always pumping Jack and Joan for info for his writing. I remember being inpressed with the number of blue ribons on the barn walls. Floor to cieling.
I have had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Baldwin personally at his home. My brother owns an auto detailing shop and we had the pleasure of detailing his boat on location of his home. He was even nice enough to take my brother and I on a tour of his cabin to see all the common living areas. Really nice guy and a REALKY nice home. I loved it. It was just like being in a historical museum.
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