The County Press

Marathon Twp. once site of medical, surgical sanitarium







 

 

MARATHON TWP. — If you stand on the shore of Otter Lake at the south end near the village and look across the lake when the trees are bare of leaves, a rusty old water tower is visible to the north.

That tower, which currently holds the village’s wireless internet system and more, rests on the property of what was most recently the Turning Point Recovery Center, which offered short-term residential substance abuse treatment.

The approximately 360 acres tucked away on Sherman Drive holds a number of interesting institutional-style buildings, some of which are crumbling away, overgrown areas, and it makes one wonder — what is the history of this place, which has clearly fallen from the beautiful campus it once was? A gazebo at the center of the grounds, an ornate stone birdbath and rusted fire escape slides whisper about romantic — or possibly tragic — tales of the past.

It was started as the Otter Lake Medical and Surgical Sanitarium, and a post card tentatively dated from 1907 for sale on eBay indicates rates were $12 to $20 per week. According to information found in an Aug. 1 1924 Lake Benton Valley News out of Minnesota, the site became the American Legion’s first regional children’s billet. Through the billets, the Legion had intentions of caring for all the children whose fathers were killed in action (or who had died as a result of service during World War I). It was neither an institution nor an orphanage, but rather “approximates a home as far as it is humanly possible.” The children were housed in small cottages of four to six rooms, with no more than nine children housed in one building, which were looked after by a house mother. They dressed in normal clothing, not uniforms, and attended public school.

At the time of the article, the Otter Lake billet had 26 children of many backgrounds, and three houses, with ground broken for two more.

“Overlooking Otter Lake, one of the prettiest of Michigan’s thousand lakes, the billet is ideal for health purposes and, under the guidance of Mrs. Eva Ingersoll, supervising mother, the food prepared is based on body-building needs. Dr. O. Johnson, the superintendent, looks after the health of the children and not one case of serious illness has been reported since the billet got underway.”

The story went on to say that there were constant requests for permission to send children to the billet, and that as fast as money was available to the Legion, expansion was taking place. A second child billet was underway in Independence, Kansas.

Otter Lake Village President Dave Dorr said at one point the facility had 500 to 600 orphans, and it was self contained with its own water and sewage systems and a steam plant for electricity and heat. It operated as the billet until the late 1970s, he said.

In the early 1970s, Dorr said the American Legion built a new building on the site, to be used as a convalescent home for the veterans. After that it was empty for a while, and then it was turned into a center for mentally and physically handicapped children, though Dorr said that ended with a tragic tale of abuse. It was empty again and then became the Turning Point Recovery Center, which closed, Dorr said, in early 2012. The place has been vacant ever since, though it is maintained by a caretaker. Trespassing is prohibited.

“In its day, it was quite a facility,” Dorr said.


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