Green Lake Story
Green Lake Conference Center is a beautiful year-round Christian conference
center set on the deepest lake in Wisconsin with a rich and interesting history
dating back to the early 1800s. Winnebago Indians, Pioneer Settlers, a wealthy
Chicago couple, a Chicago development company, American Baptist visionaries and
Christian leaders of today are all part of this special and spiritual place
where God moves and people connect.
Winnebago Indians
The first people to walk our grounds were Winnebago Indians. By the early 1800s
as many as 500 Indians camped around Green Lake. Believing the Water Spirit
lived in Green Lake, every Winnebago had to come here once in their lifetime to
worship.
Pioneer Settlers
Chris Briswold and his family constructed a Log Cabin in the mid 1840s on an 80
acre parcel of land in a part of what is now the conference center's property.
Their log cabin still stands in the back of the property. When you see the size
of this one room cabin, you wonder how Chris, his wife, and five children could
ever exist in such a small area!
Lawson Era
Victor Lawson, a "printer's devil" in Chicago, was the successful publisher of
the Chicago Daily News. He met his eccentric wife Jessie in the church choir.
They honeymooned in Green Lake.
In the summer of 1888, Jessie took friends for a boat ride on Green Lake. A
sudden storm caused the captain to put in on Lone Tree Point, named because of
the large cottonwood tree at its end. There, huddled in a shack, Jessie decided
to purchase the very spot as a refuge from the pressures and harried life of the
city.
Before the year was over the Lawsons had purchased 10 acres, including the
point, and Lone Tree Farm was begun. The Lawsons added farm to farm until the
estate included more than 1,100 acres.
|
 BRUCE KINNEY LODGE (1910), a bull barn in the Lawson era, was renovated in
1997. It is now used for guest housing. |
As the primary developer, Jessie spent several million dollars building a
spacious home, 12 miles of paved roads, two sets of farm buildings, a boat
house, two greenhouses, a powerhouse, seven water towers, a small golf course,
and homes for her workers. The Guernsey barn (1916) with its two silos is the
largest barn in Wisconsin. She maintained horses, pigs, sheep, and herds of both
Guernsey and Jersey cattle.
 The large water tower (1908) dominated the landscape and is now named in
honor of pioneer Baptist missionaries Ann & Adoniram Judson. Its observation
platform is 140 feet above the lake. Its 75,000 gallon tank was filled from a
400 foot well near the boat house. Water from the towers irrigated fields and
roads with horse-drawn sprinklers.
One of Jessie's most expensive projects was the development of the greensward
and the island off Lone Tree Point. Two summers and an investment by the Lawsons
of eight million dollars was required to complete it. Mrs. Lawson died in 1914,
and Mr. Lawson continued to maintain the estate until his death in 1925, when it
was sold by heirs to the H.O. Stone Company of Chicago.
|
 TEA
HOUSE (1910), overlooking Green Lake, was the "Tee House" for Jessie's
nine-hole golf course. It is now used for meetings and picnics.
|
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, an outdoor swimming
pool, and the Links golf course – in magnificent Scottish links style. Walter
Hagen was in the first foursome to play the new course. Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson,
Sam Snead and Vince Lombardi have also played the Links. Twenty-five fine 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 is Born
 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.
|
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
spoke at Green Lake July 23, 1956.
 |
Green Lake Conference Center has been busy in the past 10 years investing in
improvements to provide first class facilities for guests in this beautiful
location. This includes the construction of Kern and Bauer Lodges, Carroll Youth
Center, three cottages, the renovation of most pre-existing accommodations and
the construction of a new dining room, welcome center and internet café, moving
us another step closer to our goal of being the best Christian conference center
in the country.
There is a powerful sense of God bringing a spiritual revival to Green Lake at
the beginning of the 21st Century. A key component has been the Center for
Excellence in Congregational Leadership (CECL) which began in 2003. CECL is
designed to enable pastors and lay leaders to realize God's full potential for
their churches through transformational teachings by leaders such as Leighton
Ford, H. B. London, Jill Briscoe, and Leonard Sweet. Underpinning this are small
groups which provide the support and accountability to drive change.
We also host many exciting Catalyst conferences, begun in 2004, on topics
ranging from Ministry to Women in Prostitution, to Marriage, to a Church
Planter's Assessment Center. Recent leaders have included Dr. John Trent, Philip
Yancey and Sara Groves. Further, churches and denominations continue to hold
their conferences at Green Lake, bringing great speakers such as Leith Anderson,
Henry Blackaby and Joe Stowell.
We are passionate about connecting great leaders to create Christian leadership
training experiences which help pastors and churches realize God’s dreams for
them. We also love to provide our guests with great experiences at this place
where God moves and the Holy Spirit works. People connect at Green Lake with God
and with others in catalytic relationships.
We enjoy hosting a wide variety of other groups including university retreats,
school environmental education groups, scrap booking groups, non-profit company
training meetings and many others.
We are a favorite location for family reunions and vacationers!
If you are interested in books detailing of the history of the estate and
conference center, visit or call Worldwide Gifts at (920)
294-7313.
Photos used with permission from
the Dartford Historical Society and Green Lake Conference Center archival
collections. |
