I thought I recalled, from my (to date) one visit to Lawsonia, that Mr. Lawson was a newspaperman, from Chicago.
So I thought I'd take this opportunity -- and force you guys to concede that at least one journalist has done at least one wonderful thing with his life. (That's a joke, by the way. Not much of a joke, I'll grant you.)
Here's some history, from
www.lawsonia.com:
Lawsonia's home was once the elegant country estate of self-made millionaires Victor and Jessie Lawson of Chicago. Victor Lawson was publisher of the Chicago Daily News and co-founder of the Associated Press. His wife, daughter of well-known U.S. Clerk of Courts William Henry Bradley, was a Chicago socialite who had summered often in Green Lake....
In 1887, while boating near Green Lake, the Lawsons were forced to find shelter as a storm approached. After docking on remote acreage they called Lone Tree Point, they became enchanted by the beauty, later purchased it, and developed the 10 acres into a 1,000 acre estate called Lone Tree Farm. (Lawson's wooden boat, one of the few archetypes left in the world, is today displayed on the grounds.)
Mrs. Lawson, in the absence of her industrious husband, designed the estate using only the finest imported materials which shaped every inch of the land into a rare sight. Millions were spent on elaborate roads, bridges, buildings and other still-present developments, making the farm a popular showplace of advanced technology and design.
Excessive expenditures were made on the construction of Tarvia-tarred roads, white-enameled brick barns, adorned coves, elevatored water towers, spiral-stair cased observation landings, boulder-faced bridges, and a quaint nine-hole golf course exclusively for friends and guests. Mrs. Lawson tolerated no unseemliness, literally inspecting daily with white gloves, everything from walls to the twice-daily bathed pure-bred cows.
The Lawsons (after her death in 1917 and his in 1925) left the estate, then valued at $8 million, to heirs. It was sold for only $300,000 to the H.O Stone Company of Chicago, which spent about $3 million more to build a superb 18-hole golf course known then as Lawsonia Country Club. Architect William Langford was given an unlimited budget to build the Links Course in 1930. Complete with a gambling casino, outdoor swimming pool, Crystal Dining room, the Lawsonia Country Club (now called Roger Williams Inn) was surrounded by elaborate private homes as it became an exclusive retreat for the Midwest's most affluent. It was referred to as a "millionaire's playground", then attracting the most elite Hollywood stars, athletes, and empire builders.
After the depression, H.O. Stone Company filed bankruptcy and the Continental Bank of Chicago acquired ownership for about $300,000. The bank operated the estate by renting houses, holding conventions, and running the hotel as a public summer resort for about 10 years. Upon W.W. II and the gas ration, the estate was shut completely down from 1942-43, the first time in 54 years.
During that time the U.S. government investigated buying the property for the U.S. Air Force Academy. Instead, the Academy leased the barn to house 450 German war prisoners in 1944. Today this barn, now remaining as William Carey Hall, is the largest dairy barn in the U.S.
In December of 1943, under the leadership of Dr. Luther Wesley Smith and James L. Kraft of Kraft Foods, Inc., the estate was purchased by the Northern Baptist Convention, developed into a national religious center, and renamed the American Baptist Assembly (ABA)/ Green Lake Conference Center. The ABA has invested in the expansion of Lawsonia, adding a second 18-hole course and new clubhouse, which enhanced it's already-renown reputation into one of the nation's finest 36-hole public golf facilities. Lawsonia was operated as a nonprofit organization until 1994, when it became incorporated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the ABA.