Black Point Estate and Gardens

Black Point Estate and Gardens Step into Gilded Age elegance at the 1888 Summer home of Chicago beer baron, Conrad Seipp.

Guests enjoy a narrated boat ride to the property via the Lake Geneva Cruise Line, a guided tour of the mansion, & time to relax and sip Seipp beer on the veranda. Black Point Estate evokes the sense of a time and place when wealthy urban families escaped to Wisconsin to spend lazy summer days entertaining guests on wrap-around verandas or sailing on Geneva Lake. Today's guests enjoy a narrated boat tour of the scenic shoreline on their way to and from this enchanted lakeside estate.

2026 is the 250th anniversary of the United States of America. Over the next 250 days we will be highlighting historic p...
08/29/2026

2026 is the 250th anniversary of the United States of America. Over the next 250 days we will be highlighting historic people, places or things from around Walworth County.

Up next is Geneva Lake Fresh Air Association.

The Lake Geneva Fresh Air Association, a local non-profit organization, was founded in 1887, with a mission to provide a safe, positive, and educational outdoor experience for economically disadvantaged youth to develop essential life skills.

The association operates Holiday Home Camp on the shores of Geneva Lake near Williams Bay. Today it is one of only two remaining Fresh Air Camps in the United States, and is the oldest accredited camp still operating in its original location.

Founders Hall, an original building, is the heart of the campus. There are 10 cabins that can sleep 140 people, a health center, nature center, and of course the waterfront beach and swimming area. Activities such as archery, low ropes, high ropes, ziplining, and climbing, are camp highlights. Campers explore a variety of experiences and often end the day singing traditional camp songs around a campfire.

Holiday Home Camp more than lives up to the Fresh Air Association belief that time spent in nature is a vital form of respite for children who (in the 1800s) lived in cities and suffered difficult and unsafe working conditions during the Industrial Revolution.

Walworth@250: #240

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We tried to stay up for the eclipse on Thursday but didn't make it. The moon was pretty nevertheless.
08/29/2026

We tried to stay up for the eclipse on Thursday but didn't make it. The moon was pretty nevertheless.

2026 is the 250th anniversary of the United States of America. Over the next 250 days we will be highlighting historic p...
08/28/2026

2026 is the 250th anniversary of the United States of America. Over the next 250 days we will be highlighting historic people, places or things from around Walworth County.

Up next is Ulysses S. Grant.

President Ulysses S. Grant visited Charles L. Wilson, publisher of the Chicago Evening Journal, at his summer home in the village of Geneva in 1873. Wilson and then-General Grant met at a dinner at Wilson’s home in Chicago in 1868.

Wilson came to the village of Geneva in 1870, purchasing a home on Main Street (built in 1847 and still standing—across from the library.) Shortly after the presidential inauguration of 1873, on May 10, a special train arrived in Geneva carrying President Grant, General Sheridan, and among others, Charles Wilson. The Herald newspaper reported they “at once repaired” to Wilson’s house, the President “armed with a scoop net and a cigar.”

The next morning, the President and his staff went fishing off Mallory Point (near Bartlett’s House in the Woods). Once the word was out, crowds lined the shore and the roads to Geneva filled with carriages bringing people from other villages. Returning from fishing, Grant had dinner at Wilson’s home followed by a reception at the St. Denis hotel (now the US Post Office location).

Reportedly, he “kissed the little boys and girls…and most of the big girls.” Some women went out the side door and returned to kiss the President again and General Sheridan as well.
In 1879, after Grant’s well-documented trip around the world, he returned to Chicago for a week of celebrations. An elegant reception for 500 at the Chicago Club was hosted by N.K. Fairbank (Butternuts estate).

A unique decoration on the table was a representation of Geneva Lake and the Fairbank’s yacht Cisco and sailboat Whisper sailing on the mirrored surface. Fresh California Salmon from Geneva Lake was on the menu.

Following the grand receptions, toasts, and parades, Grant returned to Galena to write his Personal Memoirs with Mark Twain, and passed away July 23, 1885.

Walworth@250: #239

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2026 is the 250th anniversary of the United States of America. Over the next 250 days we will be highlighting historic p...
08/27/2026

2026 is the 250th anniversary of the United States of America. Over the next 250 days we will be highlighting historic people, places or things from around Walworth County.

Up next is the Walworth County Fair.

Walworth County hosts one of the largest county fairs in Wisconsin. Early fairs were in East Troy, Delavan, and ultimately in Elkhorn on Labor Day Weekend. (This year's Fair is September 2-7 in 2026)

In its early years, many visitors traveled to the Elkhorn Fair by train. At one time, there were 19 Special Trains which arrived daily directly at the Fairgrounds and departed again each evening after the harness races. Guests came from Libertyville, Rockford, Freeport, Walworth, Beloit, Madison, Janesville, Milwaukee and Waukesha.

At the annual meeting in 1872 it was resolved that
“…all intoxicating and malt liquors and cider shall be totally suppressed and prohibited on the grounds of the society…and for each violation of the rules each offender shall be liable on conviction before a proper officer of said society to the highest penalty known to the law and shall also be forthwith expelled and prohibited from any future participation in the interest of said society. And all lotteries and gambling devices are equally prohibited and forbidden by said society.”

That all changed in 2021 when beer was served for the first time in 149 years. If you were one of the first 500 on the first day of the fair, you got a commemorative glass with your beer (but they were sold out by noon!)

The grandstand has been popular for horse racing, truck and tractor pulls and musical performances from Johnny and June Carter Cash, The Osmond Brothers, Randy Travis, Keith Urban and others. This year’s performers include Russell Dickerson, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Ludacris.

Walworth@250: #238

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2026 is the 250th anniversary of the United States of America. Over the next 250 days we will be highlighting historic p...
08/26/2026

2026 is the 250th anniversary of the United States of America. Over the next 250 days we will be highlighting historic people, places or things from around Walworth County.

Up next is the Maple Park Neighborhood, Lake Geneva.

In 1836/37 the Company of Geneva (seven men who established the village of Geneva) – hired Thomas McKaig, a surveyor, to develop a plan for the new community. These men had their roots in the East and were familiar with towns built around central squares. McKaig drew a plat of 36 blocks similar to the New England style of community planning. The focal point of the neighborhood was the central public square, named Maple Park in 1886. Quickly this area became the original residential section of the village.

A bird’s eye map of Geneva was created in June 1871, just before the trains arrived, just before the Great Chicago Fire, when the village began to expand. Maple Park was all trees.

Maple Park became a National Historic District in 2005. The fifteen square blocks have retained their 19th and early 20th century appearance.

Various architectural styles are represented: Victorian (Italianate, Queen Anne, Stick Style), Painted Ladies, Dutch Colonial Revival, Gothic Style English Farmhouse, Four Square, Colonial Revival, Greek Revival, vernacular farmhouses, the only Eastlake style house in town, and at one time, a Scottish Baronial Castle.

Walworth@250: #237

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2026 is the 250th anniversary of the United States of America. Over the next 250 days we will be highlighting historic p...
08/25/2026

2026 is the 250th anniversary of the United States of America. Over the next 250 days we will be highlighting historic people, places or things from around Walworth County.

Up next is Clear Sky Lodge.

Clear Sky Lodge is a rustic Adirondack inspired luxurious estate that blends the rugged charm of a wilderness cabin with high-end Gilded Age architecture. The architect, Roscoe Harold Zook attended Chicago’s Armour Institute of Technology, (now IIT) graduating in 1914.

He was a contemporary of Frank Lloyd Wright and an apprentice of well-known architect Howard Van Doren Shaw who designed several homes on Geneva.

Zook’s trademark was ‘whimsy’. This home was built in 1918 for Harley L. Clarke and his wife Hildur, combining Swiss chalet, log cabin, craftsman cottage and western lodge. Using Norway pine from a forest in northern Minnesota, Zook was meticulous on how the trees should be cut and felled as to not damage the bark.

All the logs were shipped via train to Williams Bay. They were floated or barged across the lake to the property to avoid the rugged terrain and lack of developed roads on the south shore.

A complex system was set up on the property with craftsmen from Norway and Sweden to split, treat, dry and place each log. The logs measured 20-30 inches in diameter and most were 74 feet in length. The outside logs still had the bark on them but the interior half of the logs were stripped, treated, shaved, smoothed, stained, varnished and waxed to perfection. The doors were enormous requiring hand wrought hardware throughout.

The completed house was over 10,000 square feet, 18 rooms including 6-bedroom suites and six fireplaces.
The property also included a separate 6 car garage with a 7-room apartment on the 2nd floor, greenhouse, teahouse, 2 gazebos, caretakers’ gatehouse, and 50 seat movie theatre built in 1930.

Landscape design was by Denmark’s famed Prairie School architect Jens Jensen.

The original owner, Harley Clarke was President of Utilities Power & Light Corporation. He invested in motion pictures and theatres, owning the International Projector Company that owned 85% of the movie projector business which ultimately evolved into talkies. He became President of Fox Films which merged with 20th Century. His wealth was estimated to be upwards of $60 million before the 1929 stock market crash.

Walworth@250: #236

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2026 is the 250th anniversary of the United States of America. Over the next 250 days we will be highlighting historic p...
08/24/2026

2026 is the 250th anniversary of the United States of America. Over the next 250 days we will be highlighting historic people, places or things from around Walworth County.

Up next is Elkhorn—the Christmas Card Town.

In 1952 The March of Time (a tv, movie newsreel and radio show) came to Elkhorn to film the “Christmas in Elkhorn story.” With its quaint downtown square, charming homes, festive holiday decorations and bucolic setting, and small-town appeal, Elkhorn was America’s quintessential small town. The resulting program was shown on network tv and repeated for years.

As a result of the tv show, the community gained the attention of artist Cecile Johnson who was commissioned by Ford Motor Company in 1958 to create six watercolor paintings illustrating Elkhorn’s Winter/Christmas scenes for their monthly magazine, Ford Times.

The Chicago artist’s works were reproduced by Hallmark for Christmas cards. The tradition re-emerged in 1996 with a different artist…Jan Castle Reed. She created a new painting every year through 2011.

T James Carson took over in 2012 and created more new paintings each year. The Elkhorn Chamber of Commerce has continued the tradition. The original artwork is on display at the City Hall and the Matheson Memorial Library in Elkhorn.

The 45th annual Christmas Card Town Parade happens on Saturday, December 5, 2026!

Walworth@250: #235

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Good morning!
08/24/2026

Good morning!

2026 is the 250th anniversary of the United States of America. Over the next 250 days we will be highlighting historic p...
08/23/2026

2026 is the 250th anniversary of the United States of America. Over the next 250 days we will be highlighting historic people, places or things from around Walworth County.

Up next is Grace Eckland.

Grace Eckland is a highly influential civic leader, marketing consultant, and community organizer who has profoundly shaped the modern tourism and community landscape of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

After an eclectic early career, she relocated to the area and became a driving force behind several of the city's most iconic institutions and events.

Before moving to Lake Geneva, Eckland trained as an opera singer at UCLA and performed with prestigious ensembles like the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Chorus.

She later pivoted to business and became the first female sales representative at IBM, working within their revolutionary banking division.

After moving to Wisconsin, she utilized her tech background to consult for local businesses, notably helping Lake Geneva Cruise Line build its very first computerized reservation system.

In the early 1990s, the Marcus Corporation purchased the local Pl***oy Club Resort and sought to elevate area tourism. They tasked Eckland with facilitating the strategic planning that ultimately created the Lake Geneva Convention and Visitors Bureau (now officially known as VISIT Lake Geneva Wisconsin).

She served as its Director of Marketing and Public Relations for 18 years until her retirement in 2013.

Lake Geneva's annual Winterfest began in 1995. Eckland took over management in its second year. Her efforts transformed Winterfest into a massive, world-class winter destination famous for its U.S. National Snow Sculpting Championship.

Eckland has long served as the president of the Lake Geneva Beautification Committee. In this role, she helped establish community enhancement strategies and successfully lobbied for local philanthropic projects, including the construction of the Bertil and Ulla Brunk Performance Pavilion in Flat Iron Park.

Recognition of her decades of transformative community work, she was honored with the prestigious Stu Herzog Outstanding Citizen Award in 2015

Walworth@250: #234

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2026 is the 250th anniversary of the United States of America. Over the next 250 days we will be highlighting historic p...
08/22/2026

2026 is the 250th anniversary of the United States of America. Over the next 250 days we will be highlighting historic people, places or things from around Walworth County.

Up next is Sandra Machai.

Sandra Machaj (frequently credited as Sandra Landen Machaj) is a local writer, photojournalist, and correspondent who extensively covers the regional culture, community events, and lifestyles of the Lake Geneva, Wisconsin area.

She primarily serves as a prominent writer and photographer for Spirit of Geneva Lakes magazine, a regional lifestyle publication produced by Southern Lakes Newspapers. Her work focuses on highlighting local businesses, seasonal tourism, history, and community figures.

She frequently writes features on regional destinations, such as detailed profiles celebrating the Geneva Lake Museum and historic updates of the area. Her photojournalism covers everything from regional beach guides and local music scenes to community stories.

Machaj has authored several local history books for Arcadia Publishing’s popular local history series, specifically focusing on the areas of Northern Illinois and the Chain of Lakes region just south of Lake Geneva.

Walworth@250: #233.

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Address

W4270 Southland Road
Lake Geneva, WI
53147

Opening Hours

Monday 10:30am - 2pm
Tuesday 10:30am - 2pm
Wednesday 10am - 2pm
Thursday 10:30am - 2pm
Friday 10:30am - 2pm
Saturday 10:30am - 4pm
Sunday 10:30am - 4pm

Telephone

+12622481888

Website

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