Take a Cruise to the Victorian Summer Retreat of a Chicago Beer Baron
Black Point Estate was built for Chicago Beer Baron, Conrad Seipp, in 1888 as a retreat, and in that spirit the home remains a place to relax, refresh, and explore. Just like the Victorian VIPs who established the estate, you’ll arrive in style and enjoy stunning Geneva Lake views on your cruise to this magnificent summer home, considered one of the finest examples of period architecture and furniture in the Midwest, and one of the oldest homes in Lake Geneva.
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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.
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 Robert C. Spencer Jr.
Spencer was born in Milwaukee in 1864. He studied engineering at the University of Wisconsin and architecture at MIT, before receiving the Rotch Scholarship, giving him the opportunity to travel across Europe for two years studying architecture.
His designs are known for their unique mix of both historical and modern inspirations, mixing clean and modern lines with the style of English half-timbered buildings.
In addition to his architectural abilities, Spencer was also a painter, and painted the interiors of the Chicago Public Library as well as designing murals for the United States government after the Great Depression.
He was also a writer, and was the first to review the architectural work of Frank Lloyd Wright.
In Lake Geneva, he designed Horticultural Hall, the second version of the Lake Geneva Country Club, Deepwood, the outbuildings and interiors of Wychwood as well as the Storrs B. Barret House in Williams Bay.
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Storrs Barrett home circa 1910…. We live here now. Fourth generation.
Ida Mary Clark Barrett, my grandmother, on left. She lived there from 1902 until her death in 1946.
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 Lake Geneva: Newport of the West.
At the time Mary Burns Gage and Ann Wolfmeyer started writing Lake Geneva: Newport of the West (copyright 1976), there were few books about Geneva Lake and its communities.
When Mary, known as Maggie, met Annie, (the history bug had already caught Annie) a partnership was born.
Ann Wolfmeyer was born in Appleton, graduated with a degree in English, and came to Lake Geneva in 1968. At the Lake Geneva Library she started her local history research by reading copies of the old Geneva newspapers.
Mary Burns Gage came from Green Bay to Lake Geneva after her marriage to Bill Gage, Sr. She too was an English major and had journalism experience. Her husband introduced her to Wolfmeyer, and they discovered their mutual interest.
Annie did the research and Maggie did most of the writing of their book.
Lake Geneva: Newport of the West, focuses on the histories of 63 estates and the families who lived in them. The front inside cover displays a map with mansion locations; the back inside cover highlights some of the marriages among the mansion owner families.
With a bibliography containing 109 entries, the stories are well-documented, and the book is regarded as serious research. It is labeled Volume 1, 1870-1920…the only volume published.
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This book is such a treasure trove of the history of the homes around the lake. I cherish my signed copy by Mrs. Gage. I do wish Maggie would do Volume 2!! It would be a best seller!
Great book. I wonder how many of those mansions still exist.
The book that was on my parents coffee table and started my history obsession as a little girl!
I no longer live in Lake Geneva so whenever I am homesick I look through my copy and feel a little closer. Great book!
I have carefully carried it with me on a few of my path walks…I also use “walk, talk and gawk” as a helpful guide! 😀
That really is a great book, and I'm happy to have it in my collection.
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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 people, places or things from around Walworth County.
Up next is George Warrington.
Warrington was the man behind many of Lake Geneva’s largest and most luxurious boats between 1897 and 1899 including:
• Gertrude (Potter, Stoneybrook)
• Hathor (Ryerson, Bonnie Brae)
• Kaiulani (Drake, Aloha Lodge)
• Loreley (Seipp, Black Point)
• Olivett (Young, Younglands)
• Passaic (Crane, Jerseyhurst)
• Tula (Ayer, The Oaks)
He began as a naval architect before creating his own business, Warrington Iron Works.
He was also a member of the Chicago Yacht Club and served as its Commodore in 1900.
In 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt requested that Warrington act as the Bureau of Lighthouses and Lightships’ engineering commissioner under the Department of Commerce. Warrington accepted, and served in this office through the first half of President Woodrow Wilson’s administration.
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Thanks for the History info---there should be a "tie" from those famous names to the companies they ran or owned.