Tre Brah - Home of a 21st Century Woman Living in the 19th Century

By Pamela S. Meyers


For our August visit to the shores of Geneva Lake in Southeastern Wisconsin we walk from the eastern shore of Williams Bay to the western shore, passing by the public beach and dock This is where, during summer, many lakeshore residents of the 19^th Century and early 20^th Century were met by their private yachts when they disembarked at the train station across the road. Many of the men worked in Chicago and at week’s end, took the train out to the "country" to spend weekends with their families.

East is to the right and West to the left. The markings indicate many of the homes I've featured on this blog.

You will see on the map that the lake vaguely resembles the shape of a leg and foot. The location of the town of Lake Geneva is in the toe and the inlet known as Williams Bay is the projection almost to the most western point of the lake. Last month we visited the home of E.B. Meatyard which sat the point the inlet that begins on the east side, and now we are heading across the norther border of the bay and up its west shore to the home known as Tre Brah.

Relatively speaking, the home appears to be much smaller than many of the large mansions we’ve visited, but it’s owners more than make up for the size of the home. And in particular, the lady of the home, Elizabeth Boynton Harbert.

Born into an Indiana family of substance, Elizabeth had been “properly” educated at the Western Female Seminary, that was affiliated with the Presbyterian Church. Despite its name, the school was basically a finishing school. Most young women went no further in their education at such a school, having been prepared for being the lady of the home and dealing with her societal duties. But, Elizabeth wanted more education and enrolled at the Terre Haute Female College, since the nearby Wabash College only admitted men. It was here that she became drawn to the rising Woman’s Suffrage movement

taking place in the Midwest.

A fact I found of great interest, since I’m a novelist, is that, in addition to her strong interest in women’s suffrage, she was also a novelist and penned three novels in her lifetime.

She met her husband when he was a student at Wabash College in 1860. They wouldn’t marry until ten years later after the Civil War. By the time of her wedding she had served as the vice president of the Woman’s Suffrage Association of Indiana, and when they moved to Iowa after the wedding, she became president of that state’s association, and lobbied hard for the state Republican party to include women’s rights in their platform.

From that time forward she became a well-known name in Woman’s Suffrage and when her husband accepted a position in Chicago, the people affiliated with the movement in Iowa suffered quite a blow. Of course, once settled in Illinois she became involved in the Illinois suffrage movement. All the while, over the years she birthed several children.

In 1874, the Harberts purchased the property on Williams Bay and built the home they named Tre Brah (their last name spelled backwards) and spent every summer there for 31 years. They entertained many guests at Tre Brah, including sorority sisters of their daughters and Mr. Harbert, who had a strong interest in intellectual conferences, hosted several of them at the property.

In their older years the couple followed one of their daughters and her husband to Pasadena, California and settled there. Outside of a little participation in the suffrage movement and politics, they considered themselves retired. Will died before the 19^th Amendment to the Constitution was passed, but Elizabeth did live to see the fruit of her many years of labor come to bloom

You can read much more about this fascinating woman at the Boynton-Harbert Society website from which I drew some of this information.

A broad variety of people were attracted to beautiful Geneva Lake, from back before the Civil War and right up until today.I am blessed to have grown up there and able to share these different home stories with you.

Resources:  Lake Geneva Newport of the West, Ann Wolfmeyer and Mary Burns Gage, 1976

Boynton-Harbert Society Website, http://www.elizabeth-boynton-harbert.com

A native of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, author Pamela S. Meyers lives in suburban Chicago with her two rescue cats. Her novels include Thyme for Love, which has recently been re-released on Amazon and her 1933 historical romance, Love Finds You in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Love is All We Need (the sequel to Thyme for Love) will release in 2016, and Second Chance Love from Bling!, an imprint of Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas, will release in January 2017. 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.

A Gift of the Past to be Appreciated!

Set among rolling hills in southeastern Wisconsin sits a jewel of a spring-fed lake called Geneva Lake. I was raised in the town called Lake Geneva that anchors the eastern end of the lake and have

Post card showing shore path much as it must have looked in the 1800s

recently begun to really appreciate the history of the area.

Before men from New England ventured west in 1833 to discover the lake, a Potawatomi Indian tribe, led by Chief Bigfoot, occupied the area. By the time the 1870s rolled around, the lake and its wooded shoreline had become known to wealthy bankers and businessmen in Chicago, about 80 miles to the south, as a great place to hunt and fish.

On October 8, 1872, the Great Chicago Fire made many wealthy families homeless and a large portion of the city uninhabitable. The same men who had used the area as a hunting getaway took advantage of the newly opened train route that could get them to the lake in about two hour’s time, and built huge summer “cottages” for their families to live in while the city was being rebuilt.

Snug Harbor, one of the earliest mansions built next to the shore path

They liked living there so much, they never left. At least not completely, as they divided time between Chicago and the lake. Many of those mansions still remain, and nowadays, during the spring, summer, and fall, excursion boats take folks around the 22 miles or so of shoreline to see these beauties of the past.

While the Potawatomi’s occupied the area, the best way for them to get around was along a path they created that circumvented the entire lake. That same path exists today as a public walkway, crossing in front of regal mansions and summer homes of yesteryear, along with some modern replacements of those that have fallen into disrepair.

The shore path as it crosses through the Elgin Club, a conclave of smaller homes first built in the late 19th Century and early 20th Century.

It’s unusual for a path like this to be open to the public, but the forefathers wanted to be sure the walkway would be public, allowing people to enjoy all of the lakeshore. It is understood that the trail walkers must remain on the path and not wander the private grounds or take a sunbath on one of the private piers. Surprisingly, there is little trespassing reported after these many years of use.

Home originally owned by Edward Swift of the Swift meat family. It sill stands today. The shore path runs along the top of the embankment.

It’s up to each estate’s owner to maintain their portion of the path, so as you walk along you’ll traverse on flagstones in front of one large home then switch to brick pavers as you enter the next property, and then you may find yourself on an actual dirt path for a while. Some people have walked the entire circumference of the lake, taking an entire day to do so, while others only walk a portion of it at a time. What I love is being able to see some of the old original homes up close and personal and try to imagine what life was like a century or more ago.

I for one am very grateful to the men of the past making sure that the people of today can enjoy the path created by the area’s first residents. 
 

A native of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, author Pamela S. Meyers lives in suburban Chicago, an hour's drive away from her hometown which she visits often to dig into its historical legacy. Her novels include Thyme for Love, and Love Will Find a Way,  contemporary romantic mysteries and her 1933 historical romance, Love Finds You in Lake Geneva,Wisconsin, released in April, 2013. She can often be found speaking at events around Lake Geneva or nosing in microfilms and historical records about Wisconsin and other Midwestern spots for new story ideas.