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...
05/30/2026

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 Jane Jordan Browne Petersen (1932-2003.)

Jane married Bill Petersen (the fourth-generation owner of Black Point Estate) in 1978.

Her career in publishing spanned almost 50 years. When they married, she moved her literary agency from Beverly Hills, California to Chicago.

Like her mother-in-law, (Alma Seipp Petersen) she was involved with Hull House and Holiday Home. Jane loved the arts, was an avid gardener and fought alongside Bill to convert Black Point into a museum.

While Jane passed away before Black Point could be made into a museum, her efforts were critical to our ultimate success.

Walworth@250: #150.

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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...
05/29/2026

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 Margaret Chapman.

The historic home on Wisconsin Street in Lake Geneva was home to a barber, the barber’s son, and an opera singer.

Edwin and Margaret Chapman married in Elkhorn and moved into the 1875 house shortly after their marriage in 1893. Ed opened a barber shop on Main Street underneath Arnold’s Drug Store.

Ed’s son Harold, nicknamed “Chappie,” was also a barber. Chappie’s daughter Margaret was a secretary well-known for her musical ability as a member of the Florentine Opera Company of Milwaukee and soloist for several local churches.

Margaret never married; she and her father lived together in their house until he died; Margaret passed away in 2003. They were both members of the History Buffs and Geneva Lake Museum.

Walworth@250: 149

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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...
05/28/2026

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 are Early Hotels and Taverns

As early as 1837 there were at least seven neighborhoods in Walworth County; each with a tavern or hotel. Spring Prairie (aka Franklin) had Dr Hemenway’s—a home, office, store, boarding house and tavern. Major Jesse Meacham had a tavern at Troy. Bradley’s tavern was in Elkhorn. The Phoenix brothers funded a Temperance Hotel in Delavan. Captain Williams built the Buckhorn Hotel in Williams Bay in 1840

The first tavern in the village of Lake Geneva was a crude building, the home of Mr. Ferguson, where the Geneva Lake Museum is today; known as the Owl Tavern because of large owl nailed to Ferguson’s Barn. At about same time, across the street the Loon Tavern appeared with a dead loon nailed up.

A widow Warren and her two sons (Robert Wells and Greenleaf) arrived in Geneva in the summer of 1836 and kept an open house in their log cabin. In 1837 Robert Wells Warren, a millwright, built a log house (where later the St Denis Hotel was built; today the Lake Geneva Post Office site) and opened a tavern. He operated The Warren Tavern as a crude building to start; later a 2 story). Over the years it was known as the Geneva House or Geneva Hotel.

Brother Greenleaf ran the Owl tavern for a while. He built the Lake House at the corner of Broad and Main in 1837. It was known as the Colton Exchange when former First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln stayed there in August of 1872. It was also known as the Stafford House. In 1929 the Lake House was sold to Wisconsin Power and Light Company who replaced it with the building that stands today.

These early hotels were “downtown” focused—the first lake focused hotel in Geneva was the Whiting House…built in 1873.

Walworth@250: #148

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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...
05/27/2026

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 Reinette Lester McCrea.

Suffragist, philanthropist, preservationist Reinette Thompson was born in 1855 in Illinois. In her lifetime, she took her energy to a variety of activities.

Reinette married twice. With her first husband John T. Lester, she raised his three children, maintained a house in Chicago and built Blacktoft on Geneva Lake in 1881. With her second husband and his two children they continued to enjoy Blacktoft, which still stands today.

In the late 1890s, Reinette became interested in the women's suffrage movement. She participated with the leading Chicago suffragists on automobile lecture tours to bring the voting message to neighboring towns, including Lake Geneva.

She became president of the Chicago Equal Suffrage Association.

Reinette loved the outdoors and helped form the Lake Geneva Garden Club. She brought awareness of wildlife preservation to young and old, spending the last two years of her life helping get youngsters interested in preservation.

At the end of her life, Reinette's charities were many. She died in 1916 and her will left $5,000 for a fountain "that man and beast may have a cooling drink in hot weather." The Three Graces statue resided in Flat Iron Park for many years and is now being repaired.

Walworth@250: #147

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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...
05/26/2026

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 1967 Lake Geneva Riots.

Things really heated up in the summer of 1967. Over the weekend leading up to Independence Day thousands of youths (ranging from teens to early twenties) turned from a mass of vacationing youngsters to rioters.

There were early signs of trouble on Friday night, but things deteriorated on Saturday night into Sunday morning when more than 5,000 people started to smash windows, destroyed the Andy Gump statue and tried to set fire to the lakefront ACI building.

At 11:00PM Lake Geneva Mayor, Emil Johnejack issued an immediate curfew, ordering taverns closed, streets cleared and main roads blocked.

Ultimately the National Guard was called in and between 250 and 300 rioters are arrested and hauled off to the Walworth County Fairgrounds to await being charged with drunk and disorderly conduct.

Most of those arrested are fined $150 - $200, while others, unable to pay, are sentenced to jail for 30 – 60 days.

Walworth@250: #146

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We'd like to thank Carrie with Northwind Perennial Farm for the lovely flower arrangements. These potted flowers are a b...
05/26/2026

We'd like to thank Carrie with Northwind Perennial Farm for the lovely flower arrangements.

These potted flowers are a beautiful addition to our gardens and provide some wonderful color to the landscape around the museum.

2026 is the 250th anniversary of the United States of America. Over the next 250 days we will be highlighting historic p...
05/25/2026

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 Edward Ayer’s Twin Barns

Most lakeshore estates of the Gilded Age included several gardens and an inland farm. Edward Ayer’s 1200-acre property included his home (The Oaks) now Abbey Springs on the lake shore, two farms, and five miles of walking paths.
Mr. Ayer named his two farms Upland #1 and Upland #2. As you look at the barns from county road BB near Walworth, the one on your right was used for beef cattle; the one on the left, for dairy cattle. The large barns were built of Oregon fir and gray shake cladding. The roof and siding were assembled with wooden pegs and hand-made nails. In 1913 it was reported that the barns were electrified and a milking machine had been installed. The acreage was beautified by a mile of stone fence.

Apparently, there was a stone underground passageway beneath South Shore Drive connecting their lakeside house and the farm. Mrs. Ayer enjoyed riding her horse through the oak forest on their property and used the passageway to the farm so she didn’t have to worry about the automobiles on the road.
The “twin barns” were sold in 1916 and 1918, but were noted in a 1985 survey as “visually outstanding.”

Walworth@250 #145

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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...
05/24/2026

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 the Village of East Troy

East Troy was settled in 1836 when H Roberts began construction of a saw mill on the shores of Honey Creek. The area grew very rapidly and the next four years saw the establishment of a hotel, general store, blacksmith, chapel, school, post office, doctor, lawyer and justice of the peace. The location was a good half-way stop for stagecoaches between Milwaukee and Janesville.

East Troy was originally known as Troy named after Troy, New York—where many of the original settlers originated. It was decided in 1843, that Troy was too large of an area for one township and the geography of Troy was split by the state legislature. The western part was renamed Meacham, after an early settler, and the eastern part remained Troy.

This naming was deemed unsuitable to the western portion, including Jesse Meacham, for which the area was named. Meacham set out for the state capital to reclaim the name of Troy. There is a legend that Jacob Burgit, an early settler and representative of the eastern territory, heard of Meacham’s trip and set out to the capital to argue his own case for keeping the name of Troy for the east. Burgit arrived too late, and the name of Troy was given to the western part (replacing Meacham). The eastern part was then renamed East Troy, as it remains today.

The Village was platted in 1847. All the land south of Main Street belonged to Burgit, who purchased the claim in 1837, built a saw mill and later a grist mill which helped to develop business in the area. Austin McCraken owned all the land north of Main Street. He came to East Troy in 1836 and built the first public inn in Walworth County. This inn was a log cabin, located on the site where the East Troy House now stands.

In an effort to stimulate growth in the community, Burgit and McCraken offered a free lot to anyone who would build there. They set aside land for churches, a public square and parks. Today the village square is a centerpiece for the community. The square hosts festivals, band concerts…and visitors who want to appreciate its historic beauty. The village is home to the East Troy Electric Railroad—entirely operated by volunteers.

Walworth@250: #144

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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...
05/23/2026

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 Eva Seymour Lundahl

Eva Seymour Lundahl, a daughter of the “Ice King” John V. Seymour, was a teacher, writer, and musician. Her pioneer family came to Walworth County in 1856; her father was born in Geneva in 1859.

Eva attended the University of Chicago and graduated from the Chicago Kindergarten Institute, a pioneer teacher training school promoting structured play-based learning. She joined the faculty of the Whitewater Normal School (UW-Whitewater today) teaching kindergarten at the on-campus school for two years.

The former kindergarten teacher at Central School, writer for Lake Geneva newspapers, and author of Lovely Lake Geneva and Main Street Lake Geneva captured historical information on lakeshore homes, estates, and properties, and a snapshot of downtown businesses and their owners in the middle 20th century in her two booklets.

In 1919 Eva married dentist Dr. John Lundahl. When she died in 1978 she was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery. Her historic home on the corner of Maxwell and Geneva Streets is often included in historic walking tours.

Walworth@250: #143

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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 - 4pm
Saturday 10:30am - 4pm
Sunday 10:30am - 4pm

Telephone

+12622481888

Website

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