Sturges-Young Takes Shape

Long desiring a civic auditorium that could be used for multiple purposes, the City of Sturgis received generous estate grants from three different philanthropically minded women to make the Sturges-Young facility a dream come true.

In the early 1950’s Emma D. Young left more than $400,000 to the city expressly for the creation of a cultural center. Additional gifts from the estates of Stella M. Sturges Taylor and Clara M. Sturges, under the guidance of their trustee, Raymond Dresser, Sr., were combined to bring the project to fruition. The land was gifted from the Sturgis Public Schools to allow for expansion of its music and theater programs.