2018 Special Edition 2018 Special Edition | Page 15

Winnebago Indians, pioneer settlers, a wealthy Chicago
couple, a Chicago development company and American
Baptist visionaries are all part of the history of this
special and spiritual place.
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.
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. He also spoke at the
National Missions Conference at Green Lake in 1957.
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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