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 Dr. Alice B. Stockham (1833 – 1912)
Internationally famous obstetrician and gynecologist, educator, publisher, social reformer and suffragette, Alice B. Stockham was the 5th woman in the United States to earn a medical degree.
In 1897 she launched a New Thought School in Williams Bay, called the Vralia Heights Metaphysical School…holding classes (for eight summers) in philosophy, metaphysics, home science, art and literature plus swimming, dance, tennis and theater.
She promoted gender equality, dress reform ( no corsets!), and birth control. She advocated complete abstinence from alcohol and tobacco. Her explicit book The Wedding Night attracted the attention of the Society for the Suppression of Vice; with another book, Tokology, she was found guilty of violating the Comstock Act—sending improper materials through the mail—she was fined, and the book was banned. (Her lawyer, Clarence Darrow was unsuccessful in this case.)
The book had been written in 1883 with 45 printings and 200,000 copies in five languages. She distributed free copies door to door in Chicago…with a free gynecological exam coupon.
Without income from the sale of her books, she could not maintain the site of her Vralia Heights camp in Williams Bay. She sold the camp to Norman B. Barr, whose camp continues today.
Walworth@250 #79
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We had fun at our last storyteller event of the season.
Wed like to thank all the people who shared a story at these events.
We'd also like to thankGeneva Tap HouseHouse for hosting the events. ... See MoreSee Less
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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 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's visit to Williams Bay.
In October, 1965, Dr. King spent three days at Conference Point Camp organizing what would become a blueprint for the Chicago Freedom Movement.
Dr King and Al Raby, of the Coordinating Council of Community Organizations, Chicago, met with 200 civil rights leaders from Chicago and Alabama.
King termed the upcoming campaign in Chicago as a pilot project for the civil rights campaign in the North.
Throughout the conference, King condemned violence and stressed non-violence for the Chicago movement. “The non-violent movement must be as much directed against the violence of poverty, which destroys the souls of people as against the violence of segregation,” he said.
Walworth@250 #78
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