LawsoniaGLCC

Lone Tree Farm
After the Lawson’s bought the first 10 acres in 1888, they continued to purchase the surrounding lake frontage, wooded hillsides, fields and pastures until the estate covered 1,100 acres. The Lawson’s would spend huge sums of money on Lone Tree Farm to create a beautiful and restful estate. After Jessie Lawson passed away in 1914, Victor Lawson’s interest in the property became more of a business one. The building continued on the property, with many of the improvements meant to make the property more profitable, to help pay the $3000 a month expenses. Mr. Lawson continued operation of the estate until his death in August 1925. He left most of his property in a trust for four equal heirs. The Chicago Theological Seminary, the Chicago Y.M.C.A. and the Chicago Congregational Missionary Society. At the time the estimated worth of the property was over eight million dollars. The heirs sold Lone Tree Farm to the H.O. Stone Company in the winter of 1925. The sale price was $300,000. Thus began a new era for Lone Tree Farm.

Lawsonia, Sun Valley of the Midwest
After H.O. Stone company bought the property in 1925 they spent over three million dollars developing the property into an exclusive country estate advertised as the “Sun Valley” of the Midwest, to entice select people to build and buy on the shores of Green Lake.

The Hotel, knows as the Lawsonia Country Club, was started in the fall of 1929. When the stock market crashed in 1929, the hotel was still under construction. They continued construction and the hotel/Country Club opened in 1930. An illegal casino was operated to help provide “under the table income” to help keep the floundering estate liquid. A sheriff’s raid shut down the casino and destroyed the illegal stills.
As the depression wore on, the Lawsonia Corporations were unable to pay on the $240,000 mortgage held by the Continental Bank of Chicago. A sheriff’s sale was held on the steps of the Green Lake Courthouse in January 1932, and the Continental Bank of Chicago purchased the mortgage itself and became the sole owners of Lawsonia. This included the entire property and all buildings except the privately owned houses built during the H.O. Stone era.
The bank ran the property for about 10 years, by renting out the houses and running it as a summer resort. By the end of 1942, with the Second World War and curtailment of motoring and gasoline rationing the resort closed completely for the first time in 54 years.
In the winter of 1943, the Northern Baptist Assembly acquired the estate from the Continental Bank of Chicago for the price of $300,000.

Northern Baptist Assembly
In the Summer of 1943, Dr. Luther Wesley Smith and Reverend David Witte were attending a retreat at Beaver Dam Wisconsin and decided to check out the recently closed Lawsonia Resort. They both we interested in creating a Baptist Retreat in the area. After looking at the property they contacted J.L. Kraft, the president of Kraft Cheese Company, to come up with a plan to purchase the property for the Baptists. By early 1944 the Assembly was incorporated and its board organized.  At first it was called the Northern Baptist Assembly; it would later be renamed the American Baptist Assembly. The Baptist Assembly spent over two million dollars to purchase several of the private homes and build buildings, motels units, centers and cabins. The first conference on the grounds was the Baptist Youth Conference in June 1944.

Information collected from:
“A Heritage History of Beautiful Green Lake Wisconsin”
by Robert W. & Emma B. Heiple pages 229-232