The
Green Lake
Story
Our Rich History
Tea House
No Hurry
Lawsonia Country Club
(1930s)
Winnebago Indians
The first people to walk our grounds
were Winnebago Indians. By the early
1800s as many as 500 Indians camped
around Green Lake. Believing the
Water Spirit lived in Green Lake, every
Winnebago had to come here once in
their lifetime to worship.
Pioneer Settlers
Chris Briswold and his family
constructed a Log Cabin in the mid
1840s on an 80 acre parcel of land in
a part of what is now the conference
center’s property. Their log cabin still
stands in the back of the property,
preserved as a museum and open in
summer for touring.
Lawson Era
Victor Lawson, a “printer’s devil” in
Chicago, was the successful publisher
of the Chicago Daily News. He met
his eccentric wife Jessie in the church
choir. They honeymooned in Green
Lake.
In the summer of 1888, Jessie took
friends for a boat ride on Green Lake.
A sudden storm caused the captain
to put in on Lone Tree Point, named
because of the large cottonwood tree
at its end. There, huddled in a shack,
Jessie decided to purchase the very
spot as a refuge from the pressures
and harried life of the city.
Lawson’s boat, No Hurry (1905) is one
of only three made by the Electric
Launch Company and was operated
by two electric motors powered by
140 batteries. The other two boats
were sold to Thomas Edison and the
Czar of Russia. It was purchased and
returned to the Center in 1995 for
permanent display and is in a state of
ongoing restoration.
Victor Lawson
Before the year was over, Lawsons
had purchased 10 acres, including the
point, and Lone Tree Farm was begun.
The Lawsons added farm to farm until
the estate included more than 1,100
acres.
As the primary developer, Jessie
spent several million dollars building
a spacious home, 12 miles of paved
roads, two sets of farm buildings,
a boat house, two greenhouses, a
powerhouse, seven water towers,
a small golf course, and homes for
her workers. The Guernsey barn
(1916) with its two silos is the largest
historical barn in Wisconsin. Jessie
maintained horses, pigs, sheep, and
herds of both Guernsey and Jersey
cattle.
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Bruce Kinney Lodge (1910), a
bull barn in the Lawson era, was
renovated and is now used for guest
housing.
The Boathouse (1910) was inspired
by one Jessie saw in Switzerland and
the green tile on the roof came from
Italy. It was built by Mrs. Lawson to
accommodate their large boat and
re-charge its batteries.
The large water tower (1908)
dominated the landscape and is now
named in honor of pioneer Baptist
missionaries Ann & Adoniram Judson.
Its observation platform is 140 feet
above the lake. Its 75,000 gallon
tank was filled from a 400 foot well
near the boat house. Water from the
towers irrigated fields and roads with
horse-drawn sprinklers.
Tea House (1910), overlooking Green
Lake, was originally named the “Tee
House” for Jessie’s nine-hole golf
course. It is now used for meetings
and picnics.
One of Jessie’s most expensive
projects was the development of
the greensward and the island off
Lone Tree Point. Two summers
were required to complete it. Mrs.
Lawson died in 1914 and Mr. Lawson
maintained the estate until his death
in 1925, when it was sold by heirs to
the H.O. Stone Company of Chicago.
Stone Development Company
The Stone Company spent another
$3 million developing a luxury gated
resort in the late 1920s and early
1930s. They constructed what is now
Roger Williams Inn (1930) with 81
guest rooms, a dining room, bar,
casino, outdoor swimming pool, and
Links golf course – in magnificent
Scottish links style. Walter Hagen
was in the first foursome to play. Ben
Hogan, Byron Nelson, Sam Snead and
Vince Lombardi also played the Links.
Twenty-five homes were built as well.
As a result of the stock market crash
in 1929 and the Great Depression
which followed, buyers for more lots
failed to materialize and Lawsonia
went into receivership in 1931. The
bank holding
the mortgage
operated it
for about 10
years, but
gas rationing
during
World War
II and the continued stringencies of
the depression forced it to close the
gates and seek a buyer who would
take it off their hands.
Temporary WWII German POW
Camp: From June until October
1944, the U.S. Government rented
William Carey Barn by the front gates
and some cottages as a temporary
camp for German prisoners of war.
Approximately 400 POWs were
housed here and worked at nearby
canning factories.
Baptist Assembly
Jessie’s dream of 1888 was matched
by the dream of Dr. Luther Wesley
Smith. In the summer of 1943 Dr.
Smith, Executive Secretary of the
American Baptist Board of Education
and Publication, asked David Witte,
of the Wisconsin Baptist State
Convention staff, about finding a
place where his dream for a national
conference center could come true.
Witte mentioned a “fabulous former
estate” at Green Lake.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
With typical fervor Dr.
Smith persuaded the
caretaker to let him take
a look. By the end of
the year he had enlisted
the aid of James L. Kraft
of Kraft Foods, Inc., as
well as leaders of the
denomination. Lawsonia, valued
at $11 million, was purchased for
$300,000 in December, 1943.
Baptist youth held the first
conference in June 1944. A dozen
other conferences followed in the
first season and the slogan “For a
Closer Walk with God” was adopted.
The conference center became a
key meeting place for great Baptist
leaders. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
spoke at Green Lake July 23, 1956.
His subject was “Non-aggression
procedures to inter-racial harmony”
as he began to articulate this new way
to resist racial injustice in the midst
of the Montgomery bus boycott. Visit
glcc.org to read his speech.
Green Lake Conference Center
continues to provide first-class
facilities for guests in this beautiful
location, equipping us to provide a
great experience and A Closer Walk
with God for our 21st century guests.
* * *
Photos used with permission from the
Dartford Historical Society and
Green Lake Conference Center archival collections.
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