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 373 W Geneva St., Williams Bay!
Yerkes Observatory is a beautiful landmark (designed by Henry Ives Cobb) that sits high on the shore of Geneva Lake in Williams Bay.
The University of Chicago displayed the largest refractor telescope ever made at the World’s Fair in Chicago in 1893. A year later they installed it under the dark skies of Williams Bay…where it still operates today.
The observatory was funded by Charles Tyson Yerkes, a Chicago entrepreneur.
This portal to the stars acted as a stepping stone for many amazing astronomers including Sherburne W. Burnham, Edward Barnard, Optician Frank Ross, Edwin Hubble, and Nancy Grace Roman.
Albert Einstein visited…Carl Sagan studied here, too!
The grounds were designed by the Olmstead family who created Central Park, the US Capital grounds, Biltmore and others.
The University of Chicago looked to close Yerkes observatory for good (labeling it “surplus”) but the Yerkes Future Foundation took on the huge task of restoring and operating this historical treasure in 2020.
Walworth@250 #69
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As a lifelong treasure in our lives, it was devastating whe.m we learned that Yerkes could be lost. The efforts to save it spoke to the community dedication. When research revealed that if the University no longer wanted the Observatory the ownership would revert to the family of Charles Yerkes. A relative was located in Florida following an exhaustive search. This facilitated ownership to the non-profit organization Yerkes Future Foundation in 2020. This was incredible for all who love and treasure Yerkes .
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 James Jessie Strang House and Voree.
See you on Mormon Road on the eastern edge of Walworth County!
A few (now all private) homes remain on Mormon Road from the community originally named Voree (Garden of Peace.)
From the Library of Congress, the Historic American Building Survey, in 1935: “…let it be registered that these modest, puritanical houses possess much charm and interest and are most distinctive.”
Strang was a self-appointed tempestuous Mormon religious leader, sometimes referred to as “The Profit” and he anointed himself “King.”
At one time there were 2,000 settlers in Voree, followers called “Strangites.”
Strang challenged the leadership of Brigham Young after Joseph Smith was murdered and was excommunicated by Young’s followers.
Strang was assassinated by his own Mormon followers in 1856, and is buried in Burlington, Wisconsin.
Walworth@250 #68
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Read The King of Confidence by Miles Harvey. Fascinating read about the Mormons in Wisconsin.
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 Bonnie Brae.
The beautiful Queen Anne-style house with the red roof on the north shore was built in 1881 for Judge Thomas Withrow and named Bonnie Brae for his daughter Bonnie.
Originally the house was built on a hilltop property of 31 acres. The three-sided front porch and a second-floor balcony offered spectacular views of Geneva Lake.
In 1897, the estate was enlarged by Martin Ryerson to ninety-eight acres and 1,250 feet of shoreline. At least five other buildings were added on the grounds for the staff: butler, cook, maids, chauffer, pilot of the steam yacht Hathor, and a foreman who supervised eight gardeners.
Bonnie Brae was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.
Walworth@250 #67
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Thank you for sharing the historic designations of the many LG locations!
A history of the Hathor restoration done by Larry Larkin:  acbs.org/hathors-restoration/