Ida and her husband visited the farm often and for long stays. In about 1935 Merritt Morehouse retired from his architectural practice in Chicago and he and Ida moved to Burge, where they farmed actively and made a showplace of the house and surrounding formal gardens. Merritt Morehouse was a strong and contributing presence in the agricultural community of Newton County and worked hard at again developing Burge into a vital and productive farm.
At the same time, Dorothy Gray Bolton and her husband, Louis Davout Bolton, who was an entrepreneur in the burgeoning Detroit automobile industry, retired from Detroit to Burge, where they occupied the original house across the road which they expanded and remodeled. Louis Bolton is still remembered by area residents as an exuberant personality with an infectious laugh and a heartfelt and sincere interest in all members of the community.
