You Don't Have To Leave Rochester to Explore Newest U.S. 'Landmark'

The Rochester area is immersed in history. This week, that history lesson went national.

on the campus of was designated this week by the U.S. Department of Interior as one of 13 new National Historic Landmarks.

There are fewer than 2,500 such properties in the country and 36 such landmarks in Michigan, including the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, the Fox Theater in Detroit and Cranbrook in Bloomfield Hills.

This is the first National Historic Landmark in Rochester. Chances are, you have a photo or two posing inside or in front of the town's landmark. We want to show off your photos of Meadow Brook Hall, so upload them here for all of Patch to see.

But first, a history lesson

A National Historic Landmark is defined by the government as a historic building, site, structure, object, or district that represents an outstanding aspect of American history and culture.

Meadow Brook Hall was built in the 1920s by Matilda Dodge Wilson, who inherited part of the state's automobile fortune after her first husband, Dodge Brothers Motor Car Co. founder John Dodge, died in 1920.

The Dodge family lived in Detroit and spent weekends at their farm property and country home in Rochester. 

Matilda Dodge Wilson later married Alfred Wilson and sold her shares in Dodge; the Wilsons built Meadow Brook Hall on the site of the farm estate. Read more about Matilda Dodge Wilson in .

Meadow Brook Hall is known around Rochester for its holiday tour and also as a popular destination for weddings and photo shoots.

It is an 88,000-square-foot Tudor-revival home inspired by country manor homes in England; it was built for $4 million.

Here's a look at all 13 properties designated as National Historic Landmarks this week.

For more about the history of Meadow Brook Hall, visit www.MeadowBrookHall.org.