Wind Storms Ravage Historic Fenton Seminary

High winds appear to have been responsible for wreaking havoc overnight on the facade of the historic Fenton Seminary at High and Adelaide streets.

The facade of the building collapsed overnight, leaving rubble strewn across the property.

Fenton resident Dan Stickel lives about a half-mile from the Seminary and noticed the damage Monday morning after eating breakfast.

"We were heading home and drove by it and saw that half the facade was a pile of rubble," he said. 

The Seminary, which was built in 1869, was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Nov. 26, 1982. It has remained one of Fenton's most prominent 19th-century structures.

Stickel said he has fond memories of the Seminary from growing up nearby.

"I grew up in that neighborhood and walked past it to and from school every day," he said. "As kids we were all sure that it was haunted, and I seem to remember the owners organizing a haunted house in there in the mid-'90s."

The original, three-story Fenton Seminary was founded by Rosina L. Dayfoot as a college preparatory school for young women and the seminary boasted classes in business, languages, music, and calisthenics, according to the Michigan State Housing Development Authority.  

An 1899 fire destroyed the interior, original roof and two-story veranda. Two stone piers were added to the porch during its 1900 construction and the front stairway was rebuilt as a single flight, with the original third story eliminated in favor of a hip roof. 

Another fire in 2004 caused significant damages, totaling about $100,000, according to a 2004 Tri-County Times report.

Efforts to renovate the property over the past decade have been unsuccessful and the building's condition has deteriorated rapidly.

"As the years have gone by its condition has appeared to have gotten worse and worse," Stickel said.