W.K. Kellogg Had a Fixation with the Number 7

July 14^th this year is revered by some people as “Seven Heaven”.   That’s because 7-14-21 is 7 times 2, times 3.  The founder of Battle Creek’s Cereal giant, Kellogg Company, would be one of those people.   W.K. Kellogg had a fixation, and some might say an obsession with the number 7.

• He was born on April 7 on the seventh day of the week
• Kellogg was the seventh son in his family.
• His father, born in 1807, was the seventh child in his family.
• Kellogg had seven grandsons
• There are seven letters in the name Kellogg
• He belonged to the Seventh-Day Adventist Church
• When Kellogg traveled, he would stay on a hotel's seventh floor in a room ending in the number seven.

Visitors to the W.K. Kellogg Manor House and Gardens on Gull Lake have seen first-hand how Mr. Kellogg integrated the number 7 into the home.  It was built in 1925 for $400,000 and was called “Eagle Heights.”  The architect was instructed to use seven throughout the home whenever possible.

The home has:

• Seven entry doors.
• Seven bedrooms.
• Seven bathrooms.
• Seven gables.
• There is a seven reference in many of the rooms.
• The original estate had seven structures.

An enormous amount of the home’s decor features Rookwood ceramic tile. This is especially apparent in the bathrooms which saw it floor to ceiling, the entrance way where it makes up the flooring, and around the fireplaces. The tile is all custom designed and close inspection reveals that the number 7 can be found in the designs.

W.K. Kellogg once said:

“If one seven is good, seven sevens ought to be better.  Who can fail to make a success in anything with a combination of seven times seven in the family!”

Kellogg built his winter ranch in Pomona, California in the shape of a seven.  It has seven bedrooms, seven bathrooms, and seven French windows.  Franz Braun, who used to give tours at the Kellogg House, wrote on Facebook that the house had seven chimneys but two are fake.  Beams in rooms often numbered seven.  The house measures 8,777 square feet.  Paneling would often be seven blocks across or seven vertically.

Nicole Kokx works at the the Kellogg Manor House and said the estate grounds remain open for self-guided walking tours from dawn to dusk. “You are welcome to pick up a historical walking tour guide from our brochure rack on the office doors at the Manor House."

Historical_Walking_Tour_2018_final

Looking to organize a guided tour or host an event? Contact us for more information at manorhouse@kbs.msu.edu.

Here’s a video about Mr. Kellogg and the home on Gull Lake.