Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is the magnificent punctuation of the Ice Age. Powerful glaciers have left their awesome mark in the form of hundreds of waterfalls, nearly 4,500 inland lakes and countless steams and rivers. These bodies of water are harnessed by terrain that varies from shear sandstone cliffs and rugged granite outcroppings to proud forests of pine and northern hardwoods.

Spanning the entire length of the Upper Michigan to its north is arguably the most impressive glacial creation – Lake Superior. Known as Gitche Gumee to Native Americans, this greatest of Great Lakes is notoriously temperamental and was made famous when it took the massive Edmond Fitzgerald and her crew down to a watery grave during an early November gale in the 1970s.

It is at this juncture – where land meets inland sea – that we find the Granot Loma estate. For a little more than two decades, Granot Loma played host to festive gatherings that drew celebrities and socialites from both coasts. The piano’s keys were graced by the talented fingers of George Gershwin. Irene Castle’s feet danced their way across the 80-foot great room. Mary Pickford’s visit is immortalized with a image of the silent film actress set in the stone of a bedroom fireplace.

Did Fred Astaire tap in time with the crashing waves during his stay? Was Cole Porter’s voice carried over the sand on a summer lake breeze while he enjoyed the view? Some of Granot Loma’s history is known only by the lodge and the surrounding stands of pine.

As a child, Kaufman and his family would picnic where the great lodge stands today and he could often be found frolicking under an enormous white pine nearby. When the tree was no longer able to stand upright, Kaufman had its massive stump transformed into a chandelier. The twisted network of roots was carved into a community of Mother Nature’s children. A fox cautiously monitors those who enter the dining room; a stoic owl studies the entrance to the master bedroom; a startled rabbit prepares for an attack from behind; and countless other animals survey the activities of the lodge while shedding light on the great room 24 feet below.

Listed on the registry for National Historic Places, Granot Loma is reminiscent of the “great camps” that were built during the dawn of the 20th century out East in the Adirondack Mountains. Like the Rockefellers and Vanderbilts, the Kaufmans sought natural surroundings as respite from their otherwise chaotic lives in the cities. The “camps” they had built in the quiet woods offered relaxation as well as rejuvenation and inspiration.

The numerous Native American accents throughout the great lodge are evidence that the Kaufmans held much respect for our country’s early inhabitants. The natives had a seamless relationship with their environment – something unfathomable in our world today. It’s likely the land Granot Loma now occupies once provided many of the necessities for America’s native people. Their way of life is honored through paintings, totems, rugs, mosaics, artifacts and a tepee carefully preserved within the lodge. Included are paintings of tribal chiefs created by Kaufman’s niece, Miriam Morrison. These pieces were once part of a larger collection stolen in 1977. Fortunately, 18 of these impressive artworks were recovered and now hang prominently in the great room.

Often overshadowed by the grandeur of the lodge are various adjacent log structures. These include an eight-bedroom guest house with four bathrooms and four fireplaces; two-story servants’ quarters with 14 bedrooms; a nine-stall garage that once housed Kaufman’s 1914 Rolls Royce limousine; and a log playhouse for the children, complete with a cobblestone fireplace.

One mile inland is Loma Farms. Once a working farm, this 14-building complex included a farm manager’s residence, pool and pool house, dairy barn, slaughterhouse, piggery, icehouse, 12-stall vehicle garage, seven-stall equipment garage, and more. Although most of these buildings are silent today, during Granot Loma’s two-decade heyday, they played an active role in the summertime operation on the estate. The building of this great lodge was made even more challenging by Mrs. Kaufman’s frequent direction on construction and furnishings. Particularly taxing on workers was the day she spotted an enormous boulder on the bottom of the lake and directed the men to retrieve the massive rock from the chilly depths to be used as a focal point in the great room’s awesome fireplace