Ceylon Court: From a World's Fair Exhibit to a Local Museum; The Story Continues

By Pamela S. Meyers

It’s been a while since I’ve featured one of the 19^th Century estates on Geneva Lake in Wisconsin. I recently did a presentation at the Lake Geneva Public Library that featured many of the homes and properties I’ve talked about on this blog. But one I did not feature and is well worth mentioning is what was once called Ceylon Court.

The Ceylon Court Building at the Columbian exposition photo 
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

When the World’s Fair of 1893—also named The Columbian Exposition—closed in October 1893, many of the exhibits went on sale. Countries preferred to sell rather than spend the costs to get them returned to their origins.

Frank R. Chandler, a real estate mogul, purchased the World’s Fair display from the island of Ceylon, which was a reproduction of a temple that was found in the ancient cities of Ceylon. The display was dismantled board by board and transported to Lake Geneva, WI and the Chandlers' new property on Geneva Lake. The octagonal shaped building was made from many different kinds of wood, all native to Ceylon. Not a single nail was used in its construction. One doesn’t need to be of Buddhist persuasion to appreciate the craftsmanship and design of the unique structure. After transporting the dismantled building on 26 boxcars by rail to Geneva Lake, the Chandlers then commissioned architect Henry Lord Gay to design an addition to the structure, using only material native to Ceylon. The construction had to exactly duplicate the original construction. The completed project was nothing like what had been built on the lakeshore in the twenty-plus years following the Great Chicago Fire when many beautiful estates started being built there.

The Repurposed Ceylon Court with the addition added
(note date in upper left corner states "Built 1875." It was not built until 1893.)
Photo: Discover Lake Geneva, Gage Marine, 2003

Despite all the attention given to the building of the mansion, the Chandlers sold the property only six years later to the J.J. Mitchells in 1901. Mr. Mitchell was known as the dean of Chicago banking, but his time wasn’t all devoted to

Resource: Postal Card; Public Domain

banking. He and Mrs. Mitchell invested a lot of time into improving the estate and gave free access to locals. People had to park on the road outside the grounds but were free to enter on foot and enjoy the rose gardens. The family also entertained their personal friends and other notables The estate included a horse barn where draft horses were bred. One of the most famous horses of the past, Dan Patch, lived there as well as other blue-ribbon winners. Local children loved coming to the estate's farm to look at the animals. All of this tragically ended when both Mitchells died in an auto accident.

The property was then purchased in 1928, by F.L. Maytag of washing machine fame. It wasn’t long before the name “Ceylon Court” faded and the estate was

Maytag Gardens
Resource: Postal Card, Public Domain

referred to as the Maytag Estate. It remained in the hands of the Maytags until 1948, when the property was subdivided with much of the farmland to the east becoming what is now called Lake Geneva Youth Camp, a Christian camp and retreat center that is still in operation today.

After a failed attempt to place the unique home on the National Register of Historic Places, contents, and architectural elements were auctioned off. You can read an article online about the most recent auction when the Florsheim family put some of the columns in their possession up for auction. The Geneva Lake Museum was also able to acquire some of these columns and a few other pieces and they are in a permanent display there. It’s well worth a visit to the museum if you are ever in the area. But all was not lost because many of the original buildings located on the farmland that is now Lake Geneva Youth Camp just east of the estate location still stand and have been repurposed by the camp.

Text Resources:

Lake Geneva, Newport of the West; 1976; Anne Wolfmeyer & Mary Burns Gage; Lake Geneva Historical Society,

Discover Lake Geneva, Gage Marine; 2003

A native of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, author Pamela S. Meyers lives in suburban Chicago with her two rescue cats. Her novels include Surprised by Love in Lake Geneva and Safe Refuge, both historicals set in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. When she isn’t at her laptop writing her latest novel, she can often be found nosing around Wisconsin and other midwestern spots for new story ideas.

From Meat Packing to Soap Opera Creating-- The Varied Past of Casa del Sueno

By Pamela S. Meyers
        

Original Home - Galewood

We are back on the public shore path that encircles Geneva Lake in southeastern Wisconsin and visiting the mansions of old that once graced the shoreline of this beautiful Midwestern lake.

This home is one that has stood the test of time and still is a residence today on the south shore of the lake—or at least the second version of the home is. You see, the first version burned to the ground in 1928. That version was built by C. J. Hately. He was involved in the meat packing business in Chicago, along with other investment projects. One such project was the Chicago Beach Hotel on Hyde Park Avenue.

The first version, a square design, with its first floor surrounded by a porch, complete with white columns, on at least three sides, was not met with much fanfare. In fact, an article in the May 12, 1893, Lake Geneva Herald stated that the Hately home was a, “large square building, and to our mind, too squatty to be handsome.” The rather bold criticism didn’t bother the Hatelys much as they enjoyed their escape from the hot city streets during summer when Mr. Hately would board the Millionaire special train in Chicago on Friday afternoons and two hours later, arrive at the end of the line in Williams Bay. He would then cross the street to his 60-foot steam yacht called Thelma. From there he would be taken across the lake to be

Casa de Sueno after Construction

greeted by his family.

In 1923, the Hately’s sold the estate to Mrs. Jesse Bartlett Hooper. She lived in it for five years when the fire mentioned earlier reduced the home to rubble. She had a new home built in its place—a 16-room mansion of Spanish influence, where she lived for the next five years. When moving into the new home, she changed it’s name to Casa del Sueno, which translated means Home of Dreams. In 1935 the home was sold to Mildred Ruehl Starck, widow of P.T. Starck of the Starck Piano Company.

Current View of Casa del Sueno

It was sold in the 1950s to Chicago television personality Lee Phillip and her husband William Bell, creator of two daytime soap operas, The Young and the Restless, and The Bold and the Beautiful. Today it is privately owned and the names of the owners are not public. What is unique about the home now is its boathouse, which looks like an old steamer yacht and is used as a guest house. Its name is the “S.S. No-Go.” While viewing the home from the water, many trees block the observer from getting a clear view of the mansion. But the older picture here help to visualize what is obscured.

If you are ever in the Lake Geneva area and take a boat ride around the lake, you will likely remember reading about the home the moment you spot the guesthouse that looks like a boat.

I'll be back next month with more snippets of history from the Lake Geneva, Wisconsin area. 

Resources:

Photo of Casa del Sueno after construction--Wisconsin Historical Society, Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, "Casa del Sueno", Linn Township, Walworth County, Wisconsin, Reference Number 68531

Newport of the West; Ann Wolfmeyer & Mary Burns Gage; 1976, Lake Geneva Historical Society, Inc.

Photo of original home: Lake Geneva in Vintage Postcards; Carolyn Hope Smeltzer & Martha Kiefer Cucco, Arcadia Press, 2005

Photo of current home: Lake Geneva Estates.com (lakegenevaestates.com)

Pamela S. Meyers lives in northern Illinois with her two rescue cats. Her novels include Thyme for Love, Love Finds You in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, Second Chance Love, and Surprised by Love in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin (a reissue of Love Finds You in Lake Geneva). Her novellas include: What Lies Ahead, in The Bucket List Dare collection, and If These Walls Could Talk, in Coming Home: A Tiny House Collection. When she isn’t at her laptop writing her latest novel, she can often be found nosing around Midwestern spots for new story ideas.