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Feature Homes
STEPPINGSTONE
817 Wisconsin Street
Lake Geneva, WI 53147
Information from the tax rolls of 1875 indicate that this Italianate style home was
originally built and owned by Phillip H. Moore, owner of the hardware store in Lake
Geneva that bore his name. Also owner of a nearby stock farm, Mr. Moore was a
principal developer of Lake Geneva, having built several brick buildings there.
Original mortgage documents from 1907 show the title to the home conveyed to
Edwin Chapman, and then occupied by Edwin's son, Harold and family. Harold
Chapman owned the local barbershop and affectionately came to be known as
"Chappy". Harold's daughter, Margaret, ( a vocalist with the Floretine Opera and
church organist) was the occupant for 70 years until it was conveyed to Ronald
Weber, who lovingly restored the home to prevent it from being demolished. The
4th, and current owner, purchased the home in the fall of 2004, and has since
named it "Steppingstone".
The original structure consisted only of what is now the salon and dining room,
with three bedrooms on the second floor. Previous to 1882, an addition was made
of what is now the sitting room, then the kitchen, garage, and back porch were
added sometime later. Over the course of several years, beginning about 1995,
Mr. Weber added on the screened porch and modernized the plumbing, electric
and heating systems, renovated the kitchen and installed new wood floors. The
interior stairway bannister, as well as the shutters on the stairway window, the
interior wood trim in the salon and dining room, and second floor transom
windows are original to the home, as are the wavy glass exterior windows.
The current owner, Charlene Klein, grew up on a farm just east of Elgin, Illinois.
That farm was the birthplace of Frederic Maytag, who eventually owned the estate
in Lake Geneva known as Ceylon Court. In 1929 Mr. Maytag planned a pilgrimage
to visit his boyhood home, which was then owned by Charlene's grandparents, Mr.
and Mrs. Henry Berndt. According to a letter dated August 1, 1929, Mr. Maytag's
cook from Lake Geneva prepared a picnic lunch for the festivities, and the event
was written up in several local newspapers and in the Maytag Magazine, The Profit
News. Charlene's grandmother was presented that day in 1929 with a "brand
new" Maytag washing machine, and now that machine has come full circle and
resides at Steppingstone!
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817 Wisconsin Street
Lake Geneva, WI 53147
Information from the tax rolls of 1875 indicate that this Italianate style home was
originally built and owned by Phillip H. Moore, owner of the hardware store in Lake
Geneva that bore his name. Also owner of a nearby stock farm, Mr. Moore was a
principal developer of Lake Geneva, having built several brick buildings there.
Original mortgage documents from 1907 show the title to the home conveyed to
Edwin Chapman, and then occupied by Edwin's son, Harold and family. Harold
Chapman owned the local barbershop and affectionately came to be known as
"Chappy". Harold's daughter, Margaret, ( a vocalist with the Floretine Opera and
church organist) was the occupant for 70 years until it was conveyed to Ronald
Weber, who lovingly restored the home to prevent it from being demolished. The
4th, and current owner, purchased the home in the fall of 2004, and has since
named it "Steppingstone".
The original structure consisted only of what is now the salon and dining room,
with three bedrooms on the second floor. Previous to 1882, an addition was made
of what is now the sitting room, then the kitchen, garage, and back porch were
added sometime later. Over the course of several years, beginning about 1995,
Mr. Weber added on the screened porch and modernized the plumbing, electric
and heating systems, renovated the kitchen and installed new wood floors. The
interior stairway bannister, as well as the shutters on the stairway window, the
interior wood trim in the salon and dining room, and second floor transom
windows are original to the home, as are the wavy glass exterior windows.
The current owner, Charlene Klein, grew up on a farm just east of Elgin, Illinois.
That farm was the birthplace of Frederic Maytag, who eventually owned the estate
in Lake Geneva known as Ceylon Court. In 1929 Mr. Maytag planned a pilgrimage
to visit his boyhood home, which was then owned by Charlene's grandparents, Mr.
and Mrs. Henry Berndt. According to a letter dated August 1, 1929, Mr. Maytag's
cook from Lake Geneva prepared a picnic lunch for the festivities, and the event
was written up in several local newspapers and in the Maytag Magazine, The Profit
News. Charlene's grandmother was presented that day in 1929 with a "brand
new" Maytag washing machine, and now that machine has come full circle and
resides at Steppingstone!
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| Steppingstone - Now |
| Bannister |
| Steppingstone - Then |
| The Ghost of Margaret Chapman |
| Original Kitchen |