Albion Interactive History / Buildings / Starr Commonwealth
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Leon Claucherty
Raymond Wilcox was an association of Phillips, who helped make the long-term plan for the Commonwealth. Drawn largely by curiosity, on a trip home to visit his mother in Grand Rapids, “Wilcox stopped to see what we had.” As Starr described the incident, “It was a short visit. We had Gladsome Cottage and we had NewtonHall.” Soon after Mr. Wilcox reached home, Starr continued, “He said to his mother, ‘We have just drawn the plans for the Starr Commonwealth for Boys, and we’ve located a number of buildings… [Most of them] are nothing now but white spots where the various buildings are to be put. I wish you’d cover one of them.”
To Starr’s ultimate delight, Mrs. Caroline Hill Wilcox did exactly that. With the site on the map, the plan on the table, and the funds in hand,construction on Wilcox Cottage began without delay, and by the fall of 1918 it was ready to receive another dozen youngsters into the Starr household. Captivated by both Uncle Floyd and his boys, Mrs. Wilcox became a frequent visitor to the school in her later years.
Source: Keith Fennimore. Faith Made Visible: The History of Floyd Starr and His School. Albion, Michigan: Starr Commonwealth. 1988.