In 1926, Frances Dodgeheiress to the Dodge Motor Company fortunereceived a very special gift for her twelfth birthday: a playhouse christened Hilltop Lodge. This was no ordinary playhouse. You will learn about its planning and constructionand celebrate her birthday in this extraordinary playhouse. For Frances, Hilltop Lodge was a safe havena hideaway of sorts. When riding horses on her familys estateshe used her playhouse as a stopover. (Frances Dodge would later become an internationally renowned horsewoman.) Hilltop Lodge did help Frances to gain the house management skills that her mother desired her to learnbut mostly it was special to Frances because it was here that she would first meet Patrick. Even today you can visit Frances playhouse. Some of her personal belongings (toys, books and dishes) are still there. Visitors to Meadow Brook Hall are invited to take the short stroll through the woods to visit her playhousebut most seem so in awe of the mansion (which was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2012)that they confine themselves to touring the Hall. It is indeed an exquisite home. But Hilltop Lodge, Frances enchanted hideaway, was magical . . .
