Much of what is now Highland Recreation Area was once the country estate of auto magnate Edsel Ford. Seeking a "nerve retreat," Edsel developed an elaborate estate throughout the Haven Hill and Teeple Lake area that included a self-sufficient farm, sheep barn, gardens, riding stable, and the lodge atop Haven Hill. After the Lindbergh kidnapping and later violent union struggles in the 1930s, the heavily secured Haven Hill estate increasingly replaced the Grosse Pointe Ford mansion as the Ford family's home, and the four Ford children spent most of their childhood within its security. The estate also served as a favored place for entertaining close family friends such as Thomas Edison and Charles Lindbergh. Edsel Ford died on May 26, 1943, at age 49. Under Department Director P.J. Hoffmaster's philosophy of "bringing parks to the people," 5,407 acres were acquired between 1943 and 1946. Many of the original Ford buildings remain park facilities today. Haven Hill Lodge served as a conference center from 1949 to 1972 and as a Natural Resource Learning Center from 1972 to 1980, and there are currently no plans to renovate the lodge.